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EDITED BY 



CHARLES DUDLEY WARNER. 





BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, 
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BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 

AS A MAN OF LETTERS. 



^y 



JOHN BACH McMASTER, 

WHARTON SCHOOL, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 




" MOV 21 iB8/ 5 




BOSTON: 
HOUGHTON", MIFFLIN AND COMPANY. 

New York: 11 East Seventeenth Street. 

1887. 



Copyright, 1887, 
By JOHN BACH McMASTER. 

All rights reserved. 



The Riverside Press, Cambridge •• 
Electrotyped and Printed by H. 0. Houghton & Co. 



PREFATORY NOTE. 



My thanks are due to Dr. Samuel Green, of 
the Massachusetts Historical Society ; to Mr. 
Theodore Dwight, of the Library of the De- 
partment of State at Washington ; to Mr, 
Hildeburn, of the Philadelphia Athenseum ; and 
especially to Mr. Lindsay Swift, of the Boston 
Public Library, and Mr. F. D. Stone, of the 
Pennsylvania Historical Society, for the help so 
kindly given me when gathering the material 
for this Life of Franklin. 



JOHN BACH McMASTER. 



Philadelphia, 

October, 1887. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

1706-1723. 

Birth and early training. The newspapers and literature 
of New England. The Dogood Papers. The departure 
of Pranklin from Boston 1-35 

CHAPTER II. 

1723-1729. 

Franklin reaches Philadelphia ; is employed by Keimer ; 
goes to London ; writes a pamphlet, " Liberty and 
Necessity " ; comes back to Philadelphia ; opens a 
printing office; writes "The Busybody," and a pam- 
phlet on " Paper Money " 36-64 

CHAPTER III. 

1729-1748. 

Buys Keimer's " Universal Instructor in all the Arts and 
Sciences," and establishes the " Pennsylvania Gazette " ; 
notable contributions ; his " Parables " and " Biblical 
Paraphrases " 65-95 

CHAPTER IV. 
1732-1748. 
Publishes " Poor Richard '* ; Father Abraham's Speech ; 
quarrels with Bradford ; publishes the General Maga- 
zine 96-135 



VUl CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER V. 

1743-1756. 

Franklin becomes interested in politics; his pamphlet 
" Plain Truth " ; his " Proposals relating to the Educa- 
tion of Youth in Pennsylvania" ; founds the University 
of Pennsylvania; sells the printing house and the 
newspaper ; begins to study electricity ; his scientific 
papers ; the Albany Plan of Union ; "Dialogue between 
X, Y, Z ; " is sent to London by the Assembly of 
Pennsylvania 136-167 

CHAPTER VI. 

1756-1764. 

Political writings while in London ; the pretended chap- 
ter " On the Meanes of disposing the Enemie to Peace " ; 
returns to Pennsylvania ; massacre of the Indians ; 
Franklin's " Narrative of the Massacre " ; the Paxton 
raid ; Franklin lampooned ; his " Cool Thoughts " ; his 
" Preface to a Speech " ; is lampooned by the Proprie- 
tary Party ; is defeated at the election for Assembly- 
men ; is sent to England with the Address to the 
King ; the Proprietary Party protest ; Franklin writes 
" Remarks on a Protest " 168-188 

CHAPTER VIL 

1764-1776. 

Reaches London ; conduct regarding the Stamp Act ; haa 
Hughes made stamp collector ; is lampooned for this ; 
his writings for the London newspapers ; " Rules for 
reducing a Great Empire to a Small One." " An Edict 
of the King of Prussia." Visits France. First Eng- 
lish edition of his works ; Dubourg translates it into 
French. The Hutchinson Letters. Abused before the 
Privy Council. Delivers the Declaration of Rights, and 
returns to Philadelphia ; is elected to Congress . 189^217 



CONTENTS. IX 

CHAPTER VIII. 

1776-1790. 

Is sent to France. Eeception at Nantes ; at Paris ; by 
the French people. His popularity. "Writes "A Com- 
parison of Great Britain and America" ; '* A Catechism 
relative to the English National Debt " ; " A Dialogue 
between Britain, France, Spain, Holland, Saxony, and 
America." His way of life at Passy. The privateers. 
Madame Helvetius. Madame Brillon. " The Baga- 
telles." His mission ended. Returns to Philadelphia. 
"Writes " The Retort Courteous " ; " Remarks on Send- 
ing Felons to America '' ; " Likeness of the Anti-Feder- 
alists to the Jews." His anti-slavery writings. " Mar- 
tin's Account of his Consulship." His death. . 218-250 

CHAPTER IX. 

The Autobiography. Loss of the manuscript of the 
first part. The manuscript recovered and continued. 
Copies sent to England and France. Publication of the 
first part at Paris. Translation of this into English. 
Temple Franklin begins to edit the papers. Dr. 
Price's edition with Steuben's "Life." Temple Frank- 
lin accused of selling the papers. He finally publishes 
a part. Loss of the unpublished papers. Their singu- 
lar recovery. Bought by Mr. Stevens, and then by the 
Government of the United States. Mr. Bigelow re- 
covers the original manuscript of the Autobiography. 
Changes made by Temple Franklin in the text. Its 
popularity. The collected works. Franklin's place in 
literature. Characteristics of his style ; his versatility ; 
his philosophy. His letters. His greatness . . 251-282 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 

AS A MAN OF LETTERS. 



CHAPTER I. 

1706-1723. 

The story of the life of Benjamin Franklin 
begins at a time when Queen Anne still ruled 
the colonies ; when the colonies were but ten 
in number, and when the population of the ten 
did not sum up to four hundred thousand souls ; 
at a time when witches were plentiful in New 
England ; when foxes troubled the farmers of 
Lynn ; when wolves and panthers abounded in 
Connecticut ; when pirates infested the Atlan- 
tic coast ; when there was no such thing as a 
stage-coach in the land ; when there were but 
three colleges and one newspaper in the whole 
of British North America ; when no printing- 
press existed south of Philadelphia ; when New 
York was still defended by a high stockade; 
and when Ann Pollard, the first white woman 



2 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

that ever set foot on the soil of Boston, was 
still enjoying a bale old age. 

On the January morning, 1706, when Frank- 
lin received his name in the Old South Church 
at Boston, the French bad not founded the city 
of Mobile nor the city of New Orleans, nor 
begun the construction of that great chain of 
forts which stretched across our country from 
the St. Lawrence to the Gulf. Philip Jones 
had not marked out the streets of Baltimore ; 
the proprietors of Carolina had not surrendered 
their charter, and the colony was still governed 
on the absurd plan of Locke; Delaware was 
still the property of William Penn ; the 
founder of Georgia was a lad of eighteen. Of 
the few places that deserved to be called towns, 
the largest was Boston. Yet the area of Boston 
was less than one square mile, and the popula- 
tion did not equal ten thousand souls. The 
chief features of the place were three hills, 
since greatly cut down ; three coves, long since 
filled up ; the patch of common, where the cows 
fed at large ; and the famous Neck. Across the 
Neck was a barrier, the gate of which was 
closed each night at nine, and never opened on 
the Sabbath. Behind the barrier was a maze 
of narrow streets, lined with buildings most of 
which have long since disappeared. On the 
site of the Old South Church stood a wooden 



PARENTS OF BENJAMIN. 3 

meeting-house, pulled down in 1729. Near by- 
were the pillory and the stocks, and just over 
the way on Milk Street was the humble dwell- 
ing of Josiah Franklin and Abiah Folger his 
wife. 

Josiah was an Englishman, a dissenter, and a 
dyer ; came to Boston in 1685, and, finding no 
use for his trade, abandoned it and became a 
tallow-chandler instead. Abiah Folger was his 
second wife. The first wife brought him seven 
children. Abiah brought him ten, and of her 
ten children Benjamin was the youngest son. 
This name was given him in honor of an uncle 
on the day of his birth, which, by the records 
of the Old South Church, must have been the 
sixth of January (Old Style), 1706. 

Those were the days of compulsory education 
and compulsory thrift, the days when it was 
the duty of the selectmen to see that every 
Boston boy could read and write the English 
tongue, had some knowledge of the capital 
laws, knew by heart some orthodox catechism, 
and was brought up to do some honest work. 
Benjamin began his education at home ; was 
sent when he was eight to the Latin School, 
and soon after to that of George Brownell, a 
pedagogue famed for his skill in arithmetic 
and the use of the quill. To this school he 
went regularly till the master ceased to teach 



4 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, 

boys to make pot-hooks and loops, and began to 
teach women to make new-fashioned purses and 
to paint on glass, to do feather-work and fili- 
gree and embroider a new way, to put Turkey 
work on handkerchiefs, flowers on muslin, and 
cover their short aprons with rich brocade ; till 
he turned dressmaker and barber, made gowns 
and furbelowed scarfs, and cut gentlewomen's 
hair in the newest fashion. 

When this change took place Benjamin was 
ten. His schooling then ended, and for two 
years he cut wicks, molded candles, tended shop, 
ran on errands, and talked much of going to sea. 
The parents had intended to breed him to the 
church, and an uncle graciously promised to 
leave him a bundle of sermons taken down from 
time to time in short-hand.^ But even this could 
not move him. Benjamin remained steadfast; 
and Josiah, alarmed at this fondness for ships 
and sailors, determined to bind him to some 
trade that should keep him on shore. 

Like a man of sense, the father tried to find 
the lad's bent, took him on long walks about 
town, went among the bricklayers and the 

1 One of the sermons taken down in this way is yet extant. 
The title is, " A Discourse on Forgiveness. In Three Sermons 
from Matt. vi. 15. By Nathaniel Vincent. Taken down in 
short-hand by one of his hearers. Boston, J. Franklin, 1722." 
The remarks " To the Reader " are signed B. F., and this 
B. F. was undoubtedly Benjamin Franklin the elder. 



LIBRARY OF JOSIAH. 5 

joiners, the tanners and the cutlers, watched 
him closely, and decided that he should become 
a maker of knives. Benjamin was now sent to 
a cousin who had learned the trade in London. 
But a fee was asked. Josiah was vexed, and 
the boy was soon home and in the shop. 

There he fell to reading. As to the charac- 
ter of the books that made the library of Josiah 
Franklin, neither his wijl, inventory, nor account 
afford much information. From the inventory 
it appears that he died possessed of two large 
bibles, a concordance, " Willard's Body of Di- 
vinity," and " a parcel of small books." But 
we gather from the autobiography of Benjamin 
that the collection of books that lay upon the 
shelves was, with a few exceptions, such as no 
boy of our time thinks of reading ; such as can- 
not be found even in the libraries of students 
uncovered with dust; such as are rarely seen in 
the catalogues of book auctions, and never come 
into the hands of bookbinders to be reclothed. 
There were, Mather's "Essay to do Good," 
and Defoe's "Essay on Projects," Platarch's 
''Lives," the only readable book in the collec- 
tion, and a pile of thumbed and dog-eared pam- 
phlets on polemical theology such as any true 
son of the dissenting church might read ; such 
as those in which Increase Mather and Solomon 
Stoddart discussed the grave questions, Can bap- 



6 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

tized persons destitute of religion come to the 
table of the Lord ? Is it lawful to wear long 
hair ? At what time of evening does the Sabbath 
begin ? Is it lawful for men to set their dwelling- 
houses at such a distance from the place of pub- 
lic worship that they and their families cannot 
well attend it? Uninviting as this literature 
may seem, Franklin read it with pleasure, for 
he was by nature a debater and a disputatious 
man. Indeed, there is much reason to believe 
that he was himself the author of an eight-page 
tract ridiculing some of Stoddart's remarks, and 
called " Hooped Petticoats Arraigned and Con- 
demned by the Light of Nature and the Law 
of God." 

These books finished, he determined to get 
more. Borrow he could not. He knew no 
bookseller, and a circulating library did not 
exist anywhere in America. In a room in the 
Town Hall at Boston were gathered a few vol- 
umes which, in old wills, old letters, and the 
diaries of prominent men, is called the " Public 
Library." But there is not any reason to sup- 
pose that one of the books could have been 
carried home by a tallow-chandler's son, or 
treated of any subject less serious than religion. 
In the whole town there was not, in all likeli- 
hood, a solitary copy of any of the works of one 
of that glorious band of writers who made the 



LITERATURE OF THE TIME. 7 

literature of the reign of Queen Anne so fa- 
mous. The first catalogue of Harvard Library- 
was printed in 1723, yet there is not in it the 
title of any of the works of Addison, of any of 
the satires of Swift, of any of the poems of Pope, 
of any of the writings of Bolingbroke or Dry- 
den, Steele, Prior, or Young. The earliest copy 
of Shakespeare brought to America was of the 
edition of 1709. No copy was ever advertised 
for sale till 1722. Even such books as Harvard 
did own, it was seriously urged, should, after 
the manner of the Bodleian Library, be chained 
to the desk. 

Nor did the boy fare much better when, 
with the few halfpence he had saved, he went 
among the booksellers to buy. The steam 
printing-press has, in our time, placed within 
reach of the poorest ofiice-boy the most delight- 
ful works of poetry and travel, of history and 
biography, of essay and fiction, the languages of 
ten civilized nations can afford. When Frank- 
lin began to read, a printing-press was a " raree 
show." Neither in New Hampshire, nor Rhode 
Island, nor New Jersey, nor Delaware had such 
a thing been seen. He was three years old be- 
fore a type was set in Connecticut. He was 
twenty when the first press reached Maryland. 
He was twenty-three before one was perma- 
nently set up in Virginia, and another year 



8 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

passed by before a printer appeared in the Car- 
olinas. In the four colonies where there were 
printers, the press was busy in the cause of the 
church. Between the j&rst of January, 1706, 
and the first of January, 1718, all the publica- 
tions known to have been printed in America 
number at least five hundred and fifty. Of 
these but eighty-four are not on religious topics, 
and of the eighty-four, forty-nine are almanacs. 
"The Origin of the Whalebone Petticoat;" 
" The Simple Cobbler of Agawam in America ; " 
John Williams's " Redeemed Captive Returning 
to Zion," an Indian story, which for a time 
was more sought after than Mather's " Treacle 
fetched out of a Viper ; " Mary Rowlandson's 
" Captivity among the Indians," and " Enter- 
taining Passages relating to Philip's War," were 
the only approaches made in all these years to 
what would now be called light literature. 

Among the four hundred and sixty-six books 
of a religious tone, by far the best was " Pil- 
grim's Progress," printed at Boston in 1681 and 
reprinted in 1706. A copy of this was Benja- 
min's first purchase; was read, reread, and 
sold, and, with the money and a few more 
pence he had saved, forty volumes of Bur- 
ton's "Historical Collections" were secured. 
The bent of his mind was now unmistakable. 
He stood in no danger of going to sea ; he did 



COTTON MATHER, 9 

not need his uncle's sermons ; lie would never 
be content to mold candles nor grind knives. 
For the lad who could deny himself the few 
treats afforded by a Puritan town, save his cop- 
pers and lay them out on such books as were 
then to be had at Boston, there seemed to be 
but one career, the career of a man of letters. 

No such man had then appeared in the 
colonies. The greatest American then living 
was unquestionably Cotton Mather. Yet he 
is in no sense deserving to be called a man of 
letters. His pen, indeed, was never idle. Four 
hundred and twenty- three of his productions 
are still extant, yet our literature would have 
suffered no loss if every one of them had 
perished. Everything that he left is of value, 
but the value is of that kind which belongs to a 
bit of the Charter Oak ; to a sword worn by Miles 
Standish ; to an uncomfortable chair in which 
Governor Bradford sat; or to a broken plate 
used by the Pilgrims on their voyage to Ply- 
mouth. To hurry through a volume and write 
a sermon was, with Mather, a morning's work. 
To preach seventy sermons in public, forty 
more in private, publish fourteen pamphlets, 
keep thirty vigils and sixty fasts, and still have 
time for persecuting witches, was nothing un- 
usual for him to do in a year. The habit of 
starving the body to purify the soul he adopted 



10 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

when a lad of fourteen, and in the fifty-two 
years that remained to him his fasts were more 
than four hundred and fifty. Sometimes they 
numbered ten a week. Often they lasted three 
days. On all such occasions he would lie face 
downward on his study-floor, fasting, weeping, 
praying, calling on the name of God. By the 
time he was forty, even such mortification was 
not enough for him, and he began to keep 
vigils ; then he would leave his bed at the dead 
of night, fall prostrate on the floor of his library, 
and spend the hours of darkness " wrestling 
with God " and getting " unutterable commu- 
nications from Heaven." The simplest act of 
life was to Mather an occasion for religious 
meditation. When he mended his fire he 
remembered that godliness should flame up 
within him. When he washed his hands he 
recalled that a pure heart was also required of 
the citizen of Zion. When he pared his nails 
he reflected on the duty of putting away all 
superfluity of naughtiness. If a tall man 
passed him on the street he would exclaim, 
''Lord, give that man high attainments in 
Christianity." When he saw a lame man he 
would say, " Lord, help him to walk uprightly." 
In early life Mather stuttered and stammered, 
and spoke with difliculty. Thinking himself 
unfit to serve the Lord, he began to fit himself 



THE FIRST NEWSPAPER. 11 

to serve man, and studied medicine. But an 
old schoolmaster cured him of stuttering; he 
began to preach, and is now remembered for 
the support he gave to inoculation, to the witch- 
craft delusion of 1692, and to the censorship of 
the press James Franklin and his apprentice 
Benjamin did so much to destroy. 

It was in 1718, when he had just turned 
twelve, that Benjamin was bound to his brother, 
who a year later began to print the second 
newspaper in America. Not many years ago 
the historian of the town of Salem, while 
rummaging among the records of the Colonial 
State Paper Office at London, brought to light 
a small four-page sheet entitled " Publick Oc- 
currences, Both Foreign and Domestick." The 
date was Thursday, September 25, 1690 ; the 
size of each page was seven inches by eleven, 
and one of the four was blank. The purpose of 
"Publick Occurrences" was praiseworthy. He 
wished, the printer declared, to do " some- 
thing towards the curing, or at least the 
charming, of the spirit of lying;" and he 
should, he promised, put forth an issue once 
each month, unless a "glut of occurrences" 
required it oftener. Four days later the Gen- 
eral Court decided that " Publick Occurrences " 
was a pamphlet, that it contained reflections of 
a high nature, that it was printed contrary to 



12 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

law, and that henceforth nothing should come 
from the press till a license had first been 
obtained. None was ever issued for the offend- 
ing pamphlet, and, save that at London, no copy 
of it has since been seen. 

"Publick Occurrences" is commonly believed 
to have been the first newspaper in our country. 
It might more truly be called the first maga- 
zine, for it was, as the General Court declared, 
a pamphlet. The true newspaper did not 
appear for fourteen years, and was then begun 
by the Boston postmaster. The duties of his 
place were far from exacting. If he opened 
his office on Monday of each week from seven 
to twelve for the distribution of letters the 
riders brought in, and again from two to seven 
for the reception of letters the riders were to 
take out, colfected postage once a quarter, 
made a list of letters not called for, and higgled 
with ship-captains for distributing letters they 
ought to have lodged with him, he did all he 
was required to do. 

To John Campbell, however, these duties 
were not enough, and to them he added those of 
a gatherer of news. He visited every stranger 
that came to town, boarded every ship that 
entered the bay, collected what scraps of news 
he could, and wrote them out in a fair hand for 
the public good. Copies of his " News Letter '* 



''BOSTON NEWS LETTER.'' 13 

passed from hand to hand at the Coffee House, 
found their way to the neighboring towns, and 
went out in the mail to the goyernors of the 
New England colonies. As time passed, the 
glut of occurrences steadily increased ; his work 
grew daily more in favor ; and he was at last 
compelled to lay down the pen, betake himself 
to type, and become the founder of the Ameri- 
can newspaper. Monday, the seventeenth of 
April, 1704, was a white day in the annals of 
Boston, and as the printer struck off the first 
copy of the first number of the " Boston News 
Letter," Chief Justice Sewell, who stood by, 
seized the paper and bore it, damp from the 
press, to the President of Harvard College. 
Some extracts from the " Flying Post " concern- 
ing the Pretender, the text of a sermon licensed 
to be printed, notices of a couple of arrivals, of 
a couple of deaths, of the appointment of an 
admiralty judge and deputy, and a call for 
business, is all it contains. 

During fifteen years the " News Letter " 
had no rival. But in 1719 Campbell lost the 
post-office, refused in revenge to have his news- 
papers carried by the riders, and the new post- 
master at once established the " Boston Ga- 
zette," and gave the matter to James Franklin 
to print. While engaged in setting type and 
mixing ink in his brother's office, Benjamin 



14 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

began to write. His first attempts were two 
ballads in doggerel verse, treating of subjects 
which at that time filled the popular mind. The 
keeper of the Boston light had been drowned 
in a storm. A pirate renowned along the whole 
coast had been killed. 

There is not now living a man who has ever 
beheld such a rover out of the China seas. 
Early in the eighteenth century the black flag 
had been seen by scores of captains who went 
in and out of the colonial ports. From the 
West Indies, from New Providence, from the 
sounds and inlets of the Virginia coast, from 
Cape Fear River, from Pamlico Sound, from 
the very shores of Massachusetts, freebooter 
after freebooter sallied forth to plunder and 
destroy. When Captain Kidd died in 1700, 
Quelch succeeded him, and long found shelter 
in the bays and harbors of New England. In 
one of them, on a return from a prosperous 
coasting trip, the people surprised him, and 
hanged him with six companions on the banks 
of Charles River, June 80, 1704. The event is 
memorable as it became the occasion of the 
first piece of newspaper reporting in America. 
In the crowd that stood about the gallows-tree 
that day in June was John Campbell, who, in 
the next number of the " News Letter," de- 
scribed the scene, " the exhortation to the mal- 



TREATMENT OF PIRATES. 15 

efactors," and the prayer put up for the cul- 
prits' repose, " as nearly," says he, " as it could 
be taken down in writing in a great crowd." 

From the moment such a character fell into 
the clutches of the law he became the victim 
of the most terrible religious enginery the col- 
ony could produce. His trial was speedy. His 
conviction was sure. His sentence w^as imposed 
by the judge in a long sermon after a long 
prayer, and he was, on the Sunday or the Thurs- 
day before execution, brought to the meeting- 
house loaded with chains, and placed in the 
front seats, to be reprobated and held up by 
name to the whole congregation behind him. 
The day of his death was a gala day. The 
entire town marched in procession behind his 
coffin to the foot of the Common, to Boston 
Neck, or to Broughton's Hill on the Charles 
River, where stood the gallows, from one end of 
which floated a huge black flag adorned with a 
figure of Death holding a dart in one hand and 
an hour-glass in the other. There, after just 
such prayers and exhortations as Campbell has 
described, the pirate would be left swinging in 
his chains. 

Next in turn came Bellamy, the terror of 
every New England sailor till in 1717 he was 
wrecked on Cape Cod, where such of his crew 
as did not perish in the sea were hanged. 



16 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 

When George I. came to the throne New Prov- 
idence was a nest of pirates, and thither a ship 
of war was sent to drive them out. Two sought 
refuge in Cape Fear River, a third took up his 
abode among the people of Pamlico Sound. 
There, protected by the governor, dreaded by 
the people, he squandered in riot and debauch- 
ery his ill-gotten wealth. When all was gone, 
Theach went back to his roving life, gathered 
a crew, procured a ship, cleared her as a mer- 
chantman, and was again a pirate chief. In a 
few weeks he was home with a rich cargo in a 
fine French ship. He swore the vessel had 
been picked up at sea. But the people knew 
better, sent Governor Spottiswoode word, and 
a man-of-war soon appeared in Pamlico Sound. 
Theach descried her one evening in November, 
1718, and the next morning a running fight 
took place through the sounds and inlets of 
that singular coast. Discipline prevailed ; the 
pirate was boarded, and as Theach, covered 
with wounds and surrounded by the dead, 
stepped back match in hand to fire a pistol, he 
fainted and fell upon the deck. 

The Christian name of Theach was John ; 
but among the wretches who manned his guns 
and furled his sails, and the captains who fled 
in terror from his flag, he passed by the name 
of Blackbeard. He was a boy's ideal of a pirate 



" blackbeard:' 17 

chief. His brow was low ; his eyes were small ; 
his huge, shaggy beard, black as a coal, hung 
far down upon his breast. Over his shoulders 
were three braces of pistols ; in battle, lighted 
matches stuck out from under his hat and pro- 
truded from behind his ears. In his fits of 
rage he became a demon. But his hours of 
good-nature were more to be feared than his 
moments of fury. Sometimes he would amuse 
the boon-companions of his crew by shooting 
out the light of his cabin ; sometimes he would 
send balls whizzing past the ears or through the 
hair of those who sat with him at table. To 
mimic the Devil was a favorite sport, and on one 
occasion, to give greater reality to his imper- 
sonation, the hatches were battened down and 
the crew half stifled with the fumes of sulphur. 
The death of such a character in a hand-to- 
hand conflict on the deck of his own ship was 
as fine a subject for song as a writer of ballads 
could desire. The street ballad was then and 
long remained the chief source of popular infor- 
mation. If a great victory were won on land 
or sea ; if a murder were committed ; if a noted 
criminal were hanged ; if a highwayman were 
caught ; if a ship were wrecked ; if a good man 
died ; if a sailor came back from the Spanish 
main with some strange tale of adventure, a 
ballad-monger was sure to put the details into 



18 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

doggerel rhyme, and the event became fixed in 
the mind of the people. The influence of such 
verses was great and lasting, the demand for 
them was incessant, and the printer who could 
furnish a steady supply was sure of a rich re- 
turn. Thomas Fleet is said to have made no 
small part of his fortune by the sale of ballads 
his press struck off. James Franklin, with a 
like purpose in view, bade his apprentice turn 
his knack of rhyming to some use, suggested 
the themes, and when the ballads were printed 
sent Benjamin forth to hawk them in the 
street. That upon the drowning of the light- 
keeper and his family sold prodigiously, for the 
event was recent and the man well known ; yet 
not a line of it remains. 

From the manufacture of ballad poetry Ben- 
jamin was saved by his father, who told him 
plainly that all poets were beggars, and that he 
would do well to turn his time and talents to 
better use. The advice was taken, and Benja- 
min went on with his reading. An intense 
longing for books possessed him. When he had 
secured one, he read and reread it till he ob- 
tained another, and to get others he shrewdly 
gained the friendship of some booksellers' ap- 
prentices and persuaded them, in his behalf, to 
commit temporary theft. Urged on by him, 
night after night they purloined from their 



READS THE SPECTATOR. 19 

masters' shelves such books as he wanted, and 
left them with him to read. Some were pe- 
rused at leisure ; some that could not long be 
spared were taken after the shutters were up 
in the evening and returned in the morning be- 
fore the shutters were down. Then he would 
sit up till the dawn was soon to break, reading 
by the light of a farthing candle made in his 
father's shop. 

Everything that he read at this time of life 
influenced him strongly. A wretched book on 
vegetable diet came into his hands, and he at 
once began to live on rice, potatoes, and hasty- 
pudding. He read Xenophon's " Memorabilia," 
and ever after used the Socratic method of dis- 
pute ; he read Shaftesbury and Collins, and be- 
came a skeptic ; he read a volume of Addison, 
and gained a delightful style. 

As first published, the " Spectator " appeared 
in seven volumes, and of these, after many 
vicissitudes, the third crossed the Atlantic and 
fell in the way of Franklin. No one knew the 
contents of the Boston bookshops better than 
he. Yet the volume was, he tells us, the 
first of the series he had seen. It is not un- 
likely that another copy could not then be 
found in the province of Massachusetts Bay. 
However this may be, Franklin had now read 
the book which affected him far more deeply 



20 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

than anything else he read to his dying day. 
Lad though he was, the rare wit, the rich hu- 
mor, the grace of style, the worldly wisdom of 
the " Spectator," amazed and delighted him. 
After nightfall, on Sundays, in the early morn- 
ing, whenever he had a moment to spare, the 
book was before him. Again and again he read 
the essays and determined to make them his 
model. He would take some number that par- 
ticularly pleased him, jot down the substance of 
each sentence, put by the notes, and, after a 
day or two, reproduce the essay in language of 
his own. This practice convinced him that his 
great want was a stock of words, and he at 
once began to turn the tales into verse. The 
search after words that would not change the 
sense, yet were of length to suit the meter and 
of sound to suit the rhyme, was, he felt sure, 
the best way to supply the deficiency. 

When his vocabulary had been enlarged, 
Franklin began to study arrangement of 
thought. Then he would put down his notes in 
any order, and after a while seek to rearrange 
the sentences in the order of the essay. Next 
he fell to reading books on navigation and arith- 
metic, rhetoric and grammar, Locke "On the 
Human Understanding," and " The Art of 
Thinking," by the members of Port Royal. 
Some of these he bought. The money to buy 



"NEW ENGLAND COURANT.'' 21 

with was obtained by persuading the brother to 
give him half the shillings paid out in board 
and let him board himself, by putting in prac- 
tice a theory of vegetable diet, by refusing meat 
and fish, eating bread and biscuit, and so sav- 
ing a little even of the pittance. 

Thus equipped, Benjamin began his literary 
career at the age of fifteen. After holding office 
seven months, the successor of John Campbell 
was turned out, the " Boston Gazette " passed 
to other hands, James Franklin ceased to print 
it, and amazed the town by starting a news- 
paper of his own. The name of this weekly 
was the "New England Courant." In point of 
time it came fourth in the colonies, for, the day 
before the first number was seen at Boston, Brad- 
ford's " American Mercury '■ appeared at Phila- 
delphia. In quality the " Courant " was the most 
readable, the most entertaining, the most aggres- 
sive newspaper of the four. Precisely what the 
early numbers contained cannot now be known, 
for not an impression of a number earlier than 
the eighteenth is extant. It is certain, how- 
ever, that they were filled with sprightly con- 
tributions from a set of young men who, weary 
of the dullness of the " News Letter " and the 
" Gazette," came to the office of James Franklin 
and supplied the " Courant " with what passed 
for wit. They were, we are told, young doc- 



22 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

tors, and had picked up some knowledge of 
medicine by watching the barbers cup and let 
blood, and by pounding drugs and serving as 
apprentices in the offices of physicians of the 
town. 

Though their knowledge of physic was small, 
their impudence was great, and the " Cou- 
rant," before the fourth number was reached, 
had plunged into a warm dispute over the 
greatest medical discovery of the age. What 
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu had done for 
Europe, Cotton Mather was doing for America. 
He had read in the " Transactions of the Royal 
Society " of the wonders of inoculation, believed 
in it, and was urging and begging his townsmen 
to submit to a trial. Indeed, he was demon- 
strating the efficacy of the preventive before 
their very eyes. But for his pains they rewarded 
him as every man has been rewarded who ever 
yet bestowed any blessing on the human race. 
He was called a fool. He was pronounced mad. 
He was told that the smallpox, which that 
very year was carrying off one in every thir- 
teen of the inhabitants of Boston, was a scourge 
sent from God, and that to seek to check it was 
impious. One wretch flung a lighted hand- 
grenade, with some vile language attached, 
through a window of Mather's house. The 
" Courant " declared that inoculation was from 



DISPUTE WITH MATHER. 23 

the devil. Were not the ministers for it, and 
did not the devil often use good men to spread 
his delusions on the world? Increase Mather 
called this " a horrid thing to be related ; " said, 
with truth, that he had seen the time when the 
civil government would have speedily put down 
such "a cursed libel;" withdrew his subscrip- 
tion, and sent his grandson each week to the 
office to buy a copy of the sheet. Cotton Mather 
applied to the " Courant " such epithets as he 
might have used in speaking of a book by Calef. 
The newspaper was, he said, "full freighted 
with nonsense, unmanliness, raillery, profane- 
ness, immorality, arrogance, calumnies, lies, con- 
tradictions, and whatnot." The whole town 
was divided. Some remonstrated with James 
Franklin on the street. Some attacked him in 
the "News Letter" and the "Gazette." So 
many hastened to support him that forty new 
subscribers were secured in a month. Such an 
increase was great, for no newspaper then 
pretended to have a circulation of three hun- 
dred copies. 

It was at this time, while the dispute with the 
Mathers was warmest, that some manuscript 
was found one morning on the printing-house 
floor. Beujamin wrote it, and modestly thrust 
it under the door during the night. The " Au- 
tobiography " makes no mention of what these 



24 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

sheets contained, but there is much reason to 
believe that the manuscript was the first of 
those brief letters with which for six months 
Silence Dogood amused the readers of the 
" Courant." 

The Dogood papers find no place in any 
of Franklin's collected writings. They were 
not even ascribed to him till Mr. Parton wrote 
his biography. But, in the notes and memo- 
randa jotted down by Franklin when about to 
write the " Autobiography," he claims the Do- 
good papers as his own. They are clearly 
Franklin's work ; and so well did the lad catch 
the spirit, the peculiar diction, the humor of his 
model, the '' Spectator," that he seems to have 
written with a copy of Addison open before 
him. " I have observed," says the short-faced 
gentleman in the opening paragraph of the 
first number of the " Spectator," " that a reader 
seldom peruses a book with pleasure till he 
knows whether the writer of it be a black or a 
fair man, of a mild or a choleric disposition, 
married or a bachelor, with other peculiarities 
of a like nature that conduce very much to a 
right understanding of an author." "As the 
generality of people," says Mrs. Dogood in the 
opening paragraph of the first of her epistles, 
" now-a-days are unwilling either to commend 
or dispraise what they read till they are in 



DOGOOD PAPERS. 25 

some manner informed who or what the author 
of it is, whether he be rich or poor, old or 
young, a scholar or a leather-apron man, it 
will not come amiss to give some account of my 
past life." She thereupon proceeds to inform 
her readers that she was in youth an orphan 
bound out apprentice to a country parson ; that 
he had carefully educated her, and, after many 
vain attempts to get a wife from among the 
topping sort of people, had married her. She 
was now his widow, but might be persuaded 
to change her state if she could only be sure 
of getting a good-humored, sober, agreeable 
man. Till then, she should content herself 
with the company of her neighbor Rusticus 
and the town minister Clericus, who lodged 
with her, and who would from time to time 
beautify her writings with passages from the 
learned tongues. Such selections would be both 
ornamental and fashionable, and to those igno- 
rant of the classics, pleasing in the extreme. 
To please and amuse was her purpose. Her 
themes therefore would be as various as her 
letters, for whoever would please all must be 
now merry and diverting, now solemn and 
serious ; one while sharp and biting, then 
sober and religious ; ready to write now on poli- 
tics and now on love. Thus would each 
reader find something agreeable to his fancy, 
and in his turn be pleased. 



26 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

True to this plan, essays, dreams, criticisms, 
humorous letters came forth at least once a 
fortnight, till the Dogood papers numbered 
fourteen. A talk with Clericus on academic 
education produces a dream, in which Frank- 
lin gives vent to the hatred he felt towards 
Harvard College. A wretched elegy on the 
death of Mehitabel Kitel suggests a receipt, 
for a New England funeral elegy, and some 
ridicule on that kind of poetry he calls Kitelic. 
Now his theme is " Pride and Hoop Petticoats," 
now " Nightwalkers," now " Drunkenness," now 
a plan for the relief of those unhappy women 
who, as a punishment for the pride and insolence 
of youth, are forced to remain old maids. One 
week Silence sent an abstract from the " Lon- 
don Journal." The subject was " Freedom of 
Thought," and, whether written by Benjamin 
or really borrowed from the " Journal," the 
article had a special meaning; for James 
Franklin was at that very time undergoing 
punishment for exercising freedom of thought. 

On the twenty-second of May, 1722, a pirat- 
ical brigantlne with fifty men and four swivel 
guns appeared off Block Island, took several 
ships and crews, and began depredations which 
extended along the New England coast. News 
of the pirate was quickly sent to Governor 
Shute of Massachusetts, and by him trans- 



ARREST OF JAMES FRANKLIN. 27 

mitted to the Council on the seventh of June. 
The next day the House of Representatives 
resolved to dispatch Captain Peter Papillon in 
a vessel, strongly armed and manned, in pur- 
suit of the rover; offered a bounty of ten 
pounds for each pirate killed ; and decreed that 
the ship and cargo of the rovers should be the 
property of the captors. 

The number of the " Courant " containing 
the sixth of the Dogood papers announced 
under "Boston News" that the vessel fitted 
out by the government would sail on the elev- 
enth of June. But elsewhere, in a pretended 
letter from Newport, were these words : " The 
government of the Massachusetts are fitting 
out a ship to go after the Pirates, to be com- 
manded by Captain Peter Papillon, and 'tis 
thought he will sail some time this month if 
wind and weather permit." 

For this piece of harmless fun the Council 
summoned James Franklin before them, ques- 
tioned him sharply, and voted the paragraph 
" a high affront to this Government." The 
House of Representatives concurred, and bade 
the sheriff, under the speaker's warrant, seize 
James Franklin and lodge him in the stone 
jail. There for a month he languished, while 
Benjamin conducted the business of the print- 
ing-house and published the " Courant." 



28 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

With each succeeding issue the newspaper 
grew more tantalizing, more exasperating, till 
in January, 1723, James Franklin a second 
time felt the strong hand of the law. The 
real cause of displeasure was some remarks on 
the behavior of Governor Shute, one of the 
many arrant fools a series of stupid English 
kings sent over to govern the colonies. He 
quarreled with the General Court because it 
■would not suffer him to approve or disapprove 
the speaker ; because it ventured to appoint 
public fasts ; interrupted its sessions by long 
adjournments ; suspended military officers, and 
assumed the direction of Indian wars ; and 
when he could contain himself no longer, he 
suddenly set off for England. Of this the 
" Courant " had something to say. 

Could any one, it was asked, suppose that 
the departure of the governor for England 
with so much privacy and displeasure was 
likely to promote the welfare of the province 
when he reached the British court? Would 
it not be well to send one or two persons of 
known ability, and born in the province, to the 
British court, there to vindicate the conduct 
of the House of Representatives since the late 
misunderstanding? Ought the ministers to 
pray for Samuel Shute, Esquire, as immediate 
governor, and at the same time for the lieu- 



BENJAMIN EDITS THE CO U RANT. 29 

tenant-governor as commander-in-cliief ? Was 
not praying for the success of his voyage, if, as 
many supposed, he wished to hurt the province, 
praying in effect for the destruction of the prov- 
ince? The pretended cause of offense was an 
essay on religious hypocrisy. For publishing 
this, James Franklin was forbidden by the Gen- 
eral Court to " print or publish the New Eng- 
land Courant, or any other such pamphlet or 
paper of a like nature, except it be first super- 
vised by the Secretary of the Province." 

In this strait the printer called his friends 
about him for advice. Were the order to be 
obeyed ; were James Franklin to go once each 
week to the office of the secretar}^, show his 
manuscript, and ask leave to publish a column 
or two of extracts from London newspapers 
five months old, some fulsome praise of Gov- 
ernor Shute, two or three advertisements for 
the apprehension of runaway apprentices and 
as many more for runaway slaves, the " Cou- 
rant" would, they felt, fall at once to the level 
of the " News Letter " and the " Gazette," and 
die of dullness in a month. Change the pub- 
lisher and this would be avoided, and the " Cou- 
rant " could continue to be as impudent as ever, 
for the order applied to James Franklin and to 
him alone. His friends therefore urged him to 
make the change ; their advice was taken, and 



80 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

the "Gazette" of February 4th-llth, 1723, 
contains this falsehood : " The late Printer of 
this paper, finding so many Inconveniences 
would arise by his carrying the Manuscript and 
Public news to be supervised by the Secretary 
as to render his carrying it on unprofitable, has 
entirely dropt the undertaking." Thenceforth 
the newspaper issued under Benjamin Frank- 
lin's name. The public were assured the late 
printer had abandoned the enterprise entirely. 
Lest anyone should inquire into the truth of 
this statement, the old indenture was cancelled 
and Benjamin declared free. But the elder 
brother had no intention of freeing his appren- 
tice, and the cancelled indenture was replaced 
by a new one which the brothers kept carefully 
concealed. 

It was now pretended that the " Courant " 
was conducted by a " Club for the Propagation 
of Sense and Good Manners among the docible 
part of Mankind in His Majestys Plantations 
in America." Of this club Dr. Janus was per- 
petual dictator, and of Dr. Janus an account 
was given in a humorous " Preface " which 
Benjamin wrote for the first number of the 
" Courant " printed in his own name. 

"The Society," he wrote, had " design'd to 
present the Public with the efl&gies of Dr. 
Janus ; but the Limner, to whom he was 



''DR. J anus:' 31 

presented for a draught of his Countenance 
discried (and this he is ready to offer upon 
Oath) nineteen features in his face more than 
ever he beheld in any Human Visage before ; 
which so raised the price of his Picture that 
our Master himself forbid the extravagance of 
coming up to it. And then besides, the Lim- 
ner objected to a Schism in his Face which splits 
it from his Forehead in a Straight line down to 
his chin in such wise that Mr. Painter protests 
'tis a double face and will have four pounds 
for its portraiture. However tho' this double 
face has spoilt us a pretty Picture, yet we all 
rejoice to see old Janus in our company. . . . 
As for his morals he is a chearly Christian as the 
Country Phrase has it. A man of good temper, 
courteous Deportment, sound Judgement ; a 
mortal Hater of Nonsense, Foppery, Formality 
and endless ceremony." To him all letters must 
be addressed, and thenceforth not a number of 
the " Courant " issues without some pretended 
communication " To the Venerable Old Janus," 
"To Good Master Janus," "To the ancient 
and venerable Dr. Janus," " To Old Janus the 
Couranteer." "The gentle reader," "the in- 
genuous and courteous reader," is assured that 
the " design of the Club is to contribute to the 
diversion and Merryment of the town," that 
" pieces of pleasantry and Mirth have a secret 



82 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

charm in them to allay the heats and Tumors 
of our Spirits and make us forget our restless 
resentments, and that no paper shall be suffered 
to pass without a latin motto if one can possi- 
bly be found. Such mottoes charm the Vulgar 
and give the learned the pleasure of constru- 
ing. Gladly would the Club add a scrap or 
two of Greek; but the printer, unhappily has 
no type. The candid reader therefore will not 
impute this defect to ignorance; for Docter 
Janus knows all the Greek letters by heart." 

Under the management of the club, the 
" Courant " grew daily in favor. Each week 
the list of subscribers became longer, the bor- 
rowers became more numerous, and the adver- 
tisements steadily increased. Flushed with suc- 
cess, Benjamin in a humorous notice informed 
his readers that the club had raised the price 
of the paper to twelve shillings a year. And 
well he might, for so sprightly and entertain- 
ing a newspaper did not exist anywhere else 
in the colonies. But for this prosperity James 
Franklin was soon to pay dearly. The very 
act by which he evaded the order of the Gen- 
eral Court placed him in the power of his ap- 
prentice, and set the lad an example of dishon- 
esty which Benjamin was quick to follow. From 
the few glimpses we obtain of James Franklin 
in the " Autobiography " of Benjamin, he seems 



LEAVES BOSTON. 33 

to have been a man morose, ill-tempered, 
doomed not to succeed. The " Junto " knew, 
and he must have known, that no journeyman 
in his printing-house did such work, and that 
no contributor to the paper wrote such pieces 
as his young brother. Had he been a man of 
sense and judgment, he would undoubtedly have 
cancelled the indentures in all honesty, given 
the lad his freedom, and made him a partner. 
But he took precisely the opposite course. 
The more the apprentice displayed his ability, 
the more domineering became the master. 
From disputes the two proceeded to quarrels, 
and from quarrels to blows. Then Benjamin 
turned to the cancelled indentures and declared 
himself free. Unable to deny this, James went 
among the printers and persuaded them to re- 
fuse his brother work, and advertised in the 
" Courant " for " a likely lad for an appren- 
tice." Benjamin, after selling a few of his 
books for ready money, turned his back upon 
Boston and ran away. 

A packet sloop carried him to New York. 
There he sought out William Bradford, still / 
remembered as the man who put up the first 
press, set the first type, and printed the first 
pamphlet, in the middle colonies. Bradford 
could give the boy no work, and recommended 
him to go on to Philadelphia. He set out ac- 



34 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

cordingly, was almost lost in a storm in New 
York Bay, landed at Perth Amboy, and went 
across New Jersey on foot. 

There were at that day but two roads across 
New Jersey between Philadelphia and New 
York. -One, long known as the Old Road, ran 
out from Elizabethtown Point to what is now 
New Brunswick, thence in an almost direct line 
to the Delaware above Trenton, and so on to 
Burlington, where the traveler once a week 
took boat to Philadelphia. But it was long 
after Franklin's boyhood before the road be- 
came anything better than a bridle-path, or be- 
fore a wagon of any kind rolled over it. So 
late as 1716, when the Assembly fixed the ferry 
rate at New Brunswick, two tolls only were 
established, one " for horse and man," and one 
for " single persons." Ten pounds, raised each 
year by tax on the innkeepers of Piscataway, 
Woodbridge, and Elizabethtown, were thought 
ample to keep the pathway in repair. 

The favored road across the province was 
that from Perth Town to Burlington, on the 
Delaware, and was, as early as 1707, wide 
enough for a wagon to pass without scraping 
the hubs on the trees. In that year the Assem- 
bly complained as a great evil that a patent 
had been given to several persons to carry 
goods by wagon over the Amboy road to the 



REACHES PHILADELPHIA. 35 

exclusion of the Old Road. But the governor 
reminded the grumblers that by this means a 
trade had grown up between Philadelphia, Bur- 
lington, Perth Town, and New York such as 
had never before existed. 

Notwithstanding this travel, the road when 
Franklin used it ran for miles through an unin- 
habited country. The almanacs, which were 
the road-books of that day, make mention of 
but four places where a traveler could find rest 
and refreshment. One was at Cranberry 
Brook ; another was at Allentown, a place nine 
years old. A third was at Cross wick Bridge ; 
and the fourth at Dr. Brown's, eight miles from 
Burlington, and here Benjamin slept on the 
night of his second day from Amboy. 

Early the next morning he was at Burling- 
ton, where he once more took boat, slept that 
night in the fields, and early one Sunday morn- 
ing in October, 1723, entered Philadelphia. 
For a while he wandered about the streets, but 
falling in with a number of Quakers, followed 
them to meeting and there fell asleep. It was 
well that he did, for had the constable met him 
sauntering around the town, Benjamin would 
have been placed in the lockup. 



CHAPTER 11. 

1723-1729. 

The prospect that lay before Benjamin, when, 
the fatigue of the journey slept off, he went 
forth in search of work, was poor indeed. All 
the printing done in Pennsylvania was done on 
the press of Andrew Bradford ; and all the 
printing Bradford did in a year could, in our 
time, be done in one hour. From his press 
came the " American Weekly Mercury," the 
contents of which would not fill a column and 
a half of such a daily newspaper as the " Bos- 
ton Traveller " or the " Philadelphia Press." 
Never in any one year did all the tracts, all 
the sermons, all the almanacs, all the appeals, 
catechisms, and proposals published in Penn- 
sylvania number thirty-nine. Nor did the 
largest book yet printed contain three hundred 
small octavo pages. Indeed, forty-seven years 
had not gone since William Bradford began 
the list of Middle Colony publications with 
Atkins's " Kalendarium Pennsilvaniense, being 
an Almanac for the year of Grace 1686." 



PRINTING IN PENNSYLVANIA. 37 

William Bradford was then a lad of two-and- 
twenty, who had been brought up to set type 
and work a press in the shop of Andrew Sowle, 
a famous London printer of Friends' books. 
His relations with Sowle, first as apprentice and 
then as son-in-law, brought him often to the 
notice of William Penn. Anxious to secure a 
good printer for his province, Penn made an 
offer to Bradford to go to Pennsylvania and 
print the laws : the offer was accepted, and in 
the summer of 1685 the young printer landed 
at Philadelphia with types, a press, and three 
letters from George Fox. 

On the day he landed there were but two 
printing-presses in the whole of British North 
America. Evidence exists that there was, for 
a while, a third ; that in 1682 one John Buck- 
ner published the Virginia laws of 1680 ; that 
he was promptly summoned before the gov- 
ernor and council, censured, and forbidden to 
print again till the king's will was known ; and 
that for forty-seven years not another type 
was set in the Old Dominion. With the single 
exception of the Virginia laws of 1680, not a 
piece of printing had been done out of Cam- 
bridge, Massachusetts, when early in December, 
1685, Bradford issued the " Kalendarium Penn- 
silvaniense," and introduced "the great art and 
mystery of printing" into the Middle Colonies. 



38 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 

" Some Irregularities," said lie in his address to 
the readers, " there be in this Diary, which I 
desire you to pass by this year ; for being lately 
come hither, my Materials were Misplaced and 
out of order." But the advance sheet had 
no sooner been seen by Secretary Markham 
than he detected one irregularity for which 
neither the recent arrival nor the disordered 
fonts could atone. "In the Chronology," 
Markham informed the council, " of the Al- 
manack sett forth by Samuel Atkins of Phila- 
delphia and by William Bradford of the same 
place, are the words 'the beginning of Gov- 
ernment by ye Lord Penn.' " Thereupon the 
council sent for Atkins and bade him "blott 
out ye words Lord Penn;" and to "Will 
Bradford, ye printer, gave Charge not to print 
anything but what shall have ly cense from ye 
Council." Atkins obeyed, and in the only 
copies of " Kalendarium " now extant the hated 
words are blotted out. 

With this the struggle for the liberty of the 
press began in Pennsylvania. Twice was 
Bradford called before the governor ; thrice 
was he censured by the meeting ; once was he 
put under heavy bonds, and once thrown into 
jail, before he gathered his type, and in 1693 
fastened his notice of removal on the court- 
house door and set out for New York. Dur- 



PRINTING IN PENNSYLVANIA. 39 

ing the six years that followed his departure 
not a type was set in Pennsylvania. Then the 
Friends brought out a press from London, put 
it under the censorship of a committee, and 
rented it to Reynier Jansen. Jansen died 
in 1705, and the press passed in turn to Tibe- 
rius Johnson, to Joseph Reyners, to Jacob 
Taylor, in whose hands it was when, in 1712, 
William Bradford established his son Andrew 
as a printer at Philadelphia. 

For ten years Andrew Bradford continued to 
print almanacs and laws, religious tracts and 
political pamphlets, without a rival. But on the 
October morning, 1723, when Franklin passed 
under the sign of the Bible, entered the shop of 
Bradford and asked for work, Samuel Keimer, a 
rival printer, had set up in the town. Bradford 
had nothing for the lad to do, but gave him a 
home and sent him to Keimer, by whom he was 
soon employed. During a few months all went 
well, and Franklin spent his time courting, 
printing, and making friends. Among these 
was William Keith, who governed Pennsyl- 
vania for the children of Penn. 

Keith affected great interest in the boy, and 
sent him to Boston with a letter urging Josiah 
to fit out the son as a master printer. Josiah 
refused, and Benjamin came back to Keith, who 
now dispatched him on a fool's errand to Lon- 



40 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

don. He sailed with tlie belief that he was to 
have letters of introduction and letters of 
credit, that he was to buy types, paper, and a 
press, and return to America a master printer. 
He reached London to find Keith a knave and 
himself a dupe. 

Homeless, friendless, and with but fifteen 
pistoles in his pocket, he now walked the 
streets of London in search of work. This he 
found at a great printing-house in Bartholomew 
Close, and for a year toiled as compositor, 
earning good wages and squandering them on 
idle companions, lewd women, treats and 
shows. 

As he stood at the case it fell to his lot to 
set type for Wollaston's " Religion of Nature 
Delineated." No better specimen exists of the 
theological writings of that day. It was the 
forerunner of Butler's " Analogy " and Paley's 
" Natural Theology." It was an attempt to 
prove that, had the Bible never been written, 
there would still be found in the natural world 
around us manifest reasons for being regular at 
church, for believing the soul to be immortal, 
for not doing any of the innumerable things 
the ten commandments forbid. As he com- 
posed the book, Franklin despised it, and soon 
began to write a little pamphlet of his own in 
refutation. The pamphlet he called " A Dis- 



THE LONDON PAMPHLET. 41 

sertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure 
and Pain." But when lie had printed a hun- 
dred copies and given a few away, he grew 
ashamed of his own work, and so thoroughly 
suppressed it that but two copies of the origi- 
nal edition are now known to be extant. Were 
none in existence the loss would be trivial, for 
the pamphlet adds nothing to his just fame. 

The pamphlet he divided in the true theolog- 
ical manner into two sections. One he called 
*' Liberty and Necessity," and the other " Pleas- 
ure and Pain." " There is," said he, " a first 
Mover called God, the maker of all things. 
God is said to be all- wise, all-powerful, all- 
good. If he is all- wise, then whatever he does 
must be wise. If he is all-good, then whatever 
he does must be good. If he is all-powerful, 
then nothing can exist against his will ; and as 
nothing can exist against his will, and, being 
all-good, he can will nothing but good, it fol- 
lows that nothing but good can exist. There- 
fore evil does not exist. Again, if a creature 
is made by God, it must depend on God, and 
get its powers from him, and act always accord- 
ing to his will, because he is all-powerful. But, 
being all-good, his will is always for good, and 
the creature, being forced to obey it, can do 
nothing but what is good; and therefore evil 
does not exist. The creature, once more, being 



42 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

thus limited in its actions, being able to do only 
such things as God wills, can have no free will, 
liberty, or power to refrain from an action. 
But if there is no such thing as free will in 
creatures, there can be neither merit nor de- 
merit in their actions ; therefore every creature 
must be equally esteemed by God." 

This much settled, Franklin proceeds to the 
second part, on Pleasure and Pain. " Every 
creature," says he, " is capable of feeling un- 
easiness or pain. This pain produces desire to 
be freed from it in exact proportion to itself. 
The accomplishment of the desire produces an 
equal amount of pleasure. Pleasure therefore 
is equal to Pain. From all this it follows that 
Pleasure and Pain are inseparable and equal ; 
that, being inseparable, no state of life can be 
happier than the present ; that, being equal 
and contrary, they destroy each other, and that 
life therefore cannot be better than insensibility, 
for a creature that has ten degrees of pleasure 
taken from ten degrees of pain has nothing left, 
and is on an equality with a creature insensible 
to both." 

The gist of his pamphlet may be briefly 
stated to be this : There are no future rewards 
and punishments, because all things and crea- 
tures are equally good and equally esteemed by 
God. There is no reason to believe that a fu- 



THE LONDON PAMPHLET. 43 

ture life can be happier than the present. There 
is no reason to believe in a future life. There 
is no reason to believe that man is any better 
than the brutes. There is no religion. Dr. 
Wollaston had declared, " The foundation of 
religion lies in that difference between the acts 
of men which distinguishes them into good, 
evil, indifferent." To prove that no such differ- 
ence existed was the purpose of Franklin's 
essay. 

Though the essay proved nothing, it brought 
him friends. Limited as the circulation was, a 
copy fell into the hands of the once famous au- 
thor of " The Infallibility of Human Judgment." 
He admired the pamphlet, sought out Franklin 
and brought him to a club of skeptics that 
gathered nightly at " The Horns." There he 
met Bernard de Mandeville, who wrote " The 
Fable of the Bees," and Henry Pemberton, who 
still has a place in biographical dictionaries. 
Pemberton promised to introduce the lad to 
Isaac Newton, but the opportunity never served. 

Irreligious, lewd, saving to very meanness, 
yet a spendthrift and a waste-all, the boy had 
now reached a crisis in his career. Ashamed of 
himself and of his life, a feeling of unrest took 
possession of him. In hopes of making better 
wages, he quit the printing-house in Bartholo- 
mew Close, and found employment at another 



44 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

near Lincoln's Inn Fields. Yet even this did 
not satisfy, and for one while he thought of set- 
ting up a swimming-school, and for another, of 
wandering over Europe supporting himself by 
his trade. From both of these follies he was 
saved by one Denman. Denman had once 
been a Bristol merchant ; had failed, and emi- 
grated to America ; had retrieved his fortunes, 
and, to pay his debts, had gone back to Eng- 
land on the same ship with Franklin. It is cer- 
tain that on one occasion Benjamin went to 
Denman for advice, and it is not unlikely that 
he now went again. However this may be, 
Denman gave him a clerkship, took him back 
to Philadelphia, and placed him in a shop. 
There, at twenty, the lad began to keep books, 
sell goods, learn the secrets of mercantile af- 
fairs, and was fast becoming a merchant, when 
his employer died, and he was forced to earn his 
bread as foreman of Keimer's establishment. 

His duty at Keimer's was to reduce chaos to 
order, to mix ink, cast type, mend the presses, 
make cuts for the New Jersey paper-money bills, 
bind books, and watch the movements of the 
two redemptioners and three apprentices who 
served as compositors, pressmen, and devils. It 
was at this time that Benjamin founded the 
Junto, wrote his famous epitaph, grew reli- 
gious, composed a liturgy for his own use, and 



QUARRELS WITH KEIMER. 45 

became the father of an illegitimate son. The / 
name of the mother most happily is not known ; 
but as the law of bastardy was then rigidly en- 
forced against the woman and not against the 
man, she was, in all likelihood, one of that 
throng who received their lashes in the market- 
place and filled the records of council with 
prayers for the remission of fines. 

With Keimer, Franklin stayed but a little 
while. The two quarreled, parted, made up, 
and again separated, this time amicably, Keimer 
to go to destruction, Franklin to found a new 
printing-house and begin his great career. One 
of the three apprentices who stitched pamphlets 
and inked type was Hugh Meredith. This lad 
was country-bred, idle, cursed, with an incura- 
ble longing for drink, and blessed with a father 
who for that day was more than well-to-do. 
Over the son, Franklin had great influence, 
had persuaded him to keep sober and be indus- 
trious, and the reward for these good deeds was 
now at hand. In one of the darkest hours of 
his life, when he had left Keimer in a passion, 
when Bradford could give him no work, when 
he thought seriously of wandering back to his 
father's house, Meredith visited him and pro- 
posed a partnership. The proposition was 
gladly accepted, the father of Meredith found 
the money, an order was sent to London for 



46 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

types and a press, and in the spring of 1728 
the firm of FrankHn & Meredith began busi- 
ness at " The New Printing-Office in High 
Street, near the Market." 

Their first job was a hand-bill for a country- 
man. Their next was forty sheets of "The 
History of the Rise, Increase, and Progress of 
the Christian People called Quakers ; Inter- 
mixed with Several Remarkable Occurrences. 
Written originally in Low Dutch and also 
translated into English, by William Sewel." 
A few copies having found their way to Amer- 
ica, the Philadelphia meeting asked Bradford 
to reprint the book. Bradford cunningly asked 
time to consider, arranged with his aunt Tacy 
Sowle, the English publisher, for seven hundred 
copies, and then declined the proposition. The 
Friends thereupon turned to Keimer, who began 
the printing in 1725. But so great was the 
undertaking, and so ill was he equipped, that 
1728 came and the history was not published. 
Nor would it have been in that year had not 
the last forty sheets and the index been sent to 
Franklin. We are told in the "Autobiography " 
that Breintnal procured them from the Qua- 
kers, but this is a mistake. They were sent by 
Keimer at the very time Franklin was roundly 
abusing him in the " Weekly Mercury." 

Franklin next turned his attention to Brad- 



THE NEW PRINTING-OFFICE. 47 

ford, to whom he had once been indebted for 
food and a home. Bradford was printer to the 
province, and in the gains of this post the new 
firm determined to share. When, therefore, 
the address of the governor issued, Franklin 
obtained a copy, printed it in much better 
form, laid a copy on the seat of each member 
of the Assembly, and thenceforth the public 
printing was his. Bradford was also printer 
of the " Weekly Mercury." 

The " Mercury " was the only newspaper 
then published out of New England ; was dull, 
but circulated from New York to Virginia, and 
paid well. As the new printing-office had 
little to do, Franklin determined to start a 
newspaper of his own, make it instructive and 
amusing, and share some of the profit Bradford 
alone enjoyed. 

In an evil moment, however, he told his plan 
to George Webb, a foolish youth who had lately 
been an indentured servant of Keimer. The 
wretch hurried with the news to his former 
master, who took the hint, forestalled Franklin, 
and on December 28, 1728, issued number one 
of " The Universal Instructor in all Arts and 
Sciences and Pennsylvania Gazette." To have 
made a duller journal than Bradford's would 
have been impossible. It is small praise, there- 
fore, to say that Keimer's " Universal In- 



48 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

structor " was by far the better of the two. No 
one who reads the " Mercury " will ever accuse 
Bradford of attempting anything but money- 
making with the least possible exertion. Keimer 
undoubtedly was just as eager to make money ; 
but, to do him justice, he strove at the same 
time to amuse and instruct, and, clumsy as his 
efforts were, they were laudable. To afford 
instruction, he began the republication of Cham- 
bers's " Universal Dictionary of all the Arts and 
Sciences," and started boldly with the letter A. 
To afford amusement, a like use was made of 
" The Religious Courtship " of De Foe, and of 
some sketches of English life furnished by 
Webb. Did Keimer expect to finish this task, 
he must have looked forward to a long life for 
the newspaper and himself. If so, he was 
doomed to disappointment, for, when the for- 
tieth number issued, the " Universal Instructor " 
had passed into Franklin's hands. 

The means taken to get the newspaper are 
characteristic of his patience and his cunning. 
Enraged at the duplicity of Keimer, he deter- 
mined that the town should give this new ven- 
ture no support. Having passed his apprentice- 
ship in the midst of one newspaper controversy, 
he knew that nothing lasting is ever gained 
by calling hard names and indulging in vile 
abuse ; that if men came to the tavern to read 



''THE BUSYBODY.'' 49 

the "Instructor," or cancelled their subscrip- 
tions at the sign of the Bible, it was because 
they liked the "Instructor" better than the 
" Mercury ; " and that the way to bring back 
both readers and subscribers to the " Mercury " 
was not to abuse what they liked, but to give 
them something they were sure to like better. 
Reasoning thus, Franklin began in the " Mer- 
cury " a long series of essays subscribed " The 
Busybody." 

The first paper is taken up with some ac- 
count of " The Busybody" and his purpose. He 
is simply Mrs. Dogood in man's clothes. He 
has seen with concern the growing vices and 
follies of his countryfolk. Reformation of 
these evils ought to be the concern of every- 
body ; but what is everybody's business is no- 
body's business, and the business is done accord- 
ingly. The Busybody has therefore seen fit to 
take this nobody's business wholly into his own 
hands, and become a kind of censl^or morum. 
Sometimes he will deliver lectures on morality 
or philosophy ; sometimes talk on politics ; 
sometimes, when he has nothing of his own of 
consequence to say, he will make use of a well- 
known extract from a good book, for it is the 
lack of good books that has made good conver- 
sation so scarce. 

The second paper is against the tribe of 



50 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

laughers, — gentlemen who will give themselves 
an hour's diversion with the cock of a man's 
hat, or the heels of his shoes, or some word 
dropped unguardedly in talk ; who write satires 
to carry about in their pockets, and read in all 
company they happen to be in ; who think a 
pun is wit, and judge of the strength of argu- 
ments by the strength of the lungs. In the 
third was a portrait of Cretico, which Keimer 
mistook for himself, and sought revenge in ridi- 
culing the Busybody, and printing a small 
tract called " A Touch of the Times. Phila. : 
printed at the New Printing-Office." 

Gibes Franklin could stand, but that such a 
piece of typography should be thought to come 
from his press was too much for him, and in 
the " Mercury " of April 24, 1729, denied the 
imprint. " This," said he, " may inform those 
that have been induc'd to think otherwise, that 
the silly paper call'd ' A Touch of the Times,' 
&c., was wrote, printed and published by Mr. 
Keimer ; and that his putting the words ' New 
Printing-Office ' at the bottom, and instructing 
the hawkers to say it was done there, is an 
abuse." The new printing-office, however, did 
put forth a pamphlet entitled " A Short Dis- 
course, Proving that the Jewish or Seventh- 
Day Sabbath Is Abrogated and Repealed." 
And this pamphlet, there is reason to believe, 



*'THE BUSYBODY." 51 

was prepared by Franklin in ridicule of Kei- 
mer, who wore the long beard, and kept the 
Jewish Sabbath with great strictness. 

In the fourth Busybody he pretends to have 
had a letter begging him to pass some stric- 
tures on making long and frequent visits. The 
fifth he designed to be a terror to evil-doers. 
He has made a league with a person having 
the power of second sight, and is ready to show 
up those little crimes and vices for which the 
law has neither remedy nor regard, as well as 
those great pieces of sacred villainy so craftily 
done and circumspectly guarded that the law 
cannot take hold. 

This in turn brings a letter from Titan Pleia- 
des, astrologer. Titan has read Michael Scott, 
Albertus Magnus, and Cornelius Agrippa above 
three hundred times, in search of that wisdom 
which will lay before him the chests of gold 
and sacks of money the pirates have hidden 
underground. He has searched in vain, but 
doubts not that if the " Busybody," the second- 
sighted correspondent, and himself were joined, 
they would soon be three of the richest men in 
the province. 

Titan was no imaginary character. One 
hundred and sixty years ago the belief in the 
existence of hidden treasure was common, and 
the belief unquestionably was well founded. 



62 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

Some had been buried by misers, some by 
thieves, and not a little by men who, having 
neither stocks in which to invest nor banks in 
which to deposit, hid their savings in the 
earth, and dying, their secret died with them. 
Even now, pots of such treasure are at times 
turned up by the plow. But in Franklin's time 
men were confident they could be detected 
by the divining-rod and the stars. In every 
colony were sharpers who for a few shillings 
v^ould furnish charms to lay the guardian spirit 
and name the auspicious night, and dupes ever 
ready to give the shillings and make the at- 
tempt. Day after day they would wander 
through the woods watching the flight of birds, 
scrutinizing the tracks of animals, turning over 
bowlders, and examining the roots of trees. 
The spot discovered, they would, when the 
proper planets were in conjunction and the 
moon was dark, hurry away with spade and 
pick, toads and black-cats' fur, and, muttering 
charms, panting with fatigue and trembling 
with fear, dig for hours. If the east grew light 
before a chest crammed with pistoles or a pot 
heavy with pieces-of -eight lay before them, 
they would creep home dejected but not cured. 
The circle perhaps had not been truly drawn, 
the charm had not been correctly said, a cloud 
maybe had cut off the light of some auspicious 



''THE busybody:* 53 

star. " This odd humor of digging for money, 
through a belief that much has been hid by- 
pirates," the Busybody himself declared, was 
" mighty prevalent, insomuch that you can 
hardly walk half a mile out of town on any side 
without observing several pits dug with that 
design, and perhaps some lately opened." 

After this essay Franklin contributed no 
more to the series. Of the thirty-two papers 
comprising " The Busybody," six are commonly 
ascribed to him, and the majority of the twenty- 
six to Joseph Breintnal. When the latter 
stopped writing, the purpose for which they 
were begun had been accomplished. Keimer, 
overwhelmed by disaster, was on his way to 
the Barbadoes. His printing-house was in the 
hands of David Harry ; his newspaper was the 
property of Franklin. The whole town was 
reading the " Mercury," and forgetting that the 
" Instructor " existed. Much the same fate has 
overtaken " The Busybody." Franklin's six 
contributions are reprinted, and occasionally 
read. Breintnal's essays have never been col- 
lected, nor is there now living more than one 
man who has ever read them through. 

To liken the essays of Franklin at this period 
of his life to those of Addison would be absurd ; 
yet it cannot be denied that they possess merits 
of a rare and high order. He makes no dis- 



54 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

play of ornamentation ; he indulges in no silly 
flights of imagination ; he assumes no air of 
learning ; he uses no figures of speech save those 
the most ignorant of mankind are constantly 
using unconsciously; he is free from everything 
that commonly defaces the writings of young 
men. Dealing with nothing but the most 
homely matters, he says what he has to say 
easily, simply, and in a pure English idiom. No 
man ever read a sentence of Franklin's essays 
and doubted what it meant. It is this simplic- 
ity and homeliness, joined to hard common sense 
and wit, that gave his later writings a popular- 
ity and influence beyond those of any American 
author since his day. If he has a bad habit or 
a silly custom or a small vice to condemn, he 
begins by presenting us with a picture of it 
which we recognize at once. Then, with the 
picture full before us, he' draws just the moral 
or passes the very censure we would do if left 
to ourselves. Not a tavern-keeper but had 
seen Ridentius and his followers round the fire- 
place many a time. Not a merchant but knew 
a Cato and a Cretico. Not a shopkeeper but 
had suffered just such annoyances as Patience. 
With " Busybody " number eight, Franklin 
abandoned essay -writing to his friend, and all his 
time and ability were given to persuading the 
people on a serious question in which they and 



PAPER MONEY. 55 

he were deeply concerned. It was, indeed, the 
question of the hour, and on its decision hung 
the financial and commercial prosperity of the 
province. 

Six years before, the people of Pennsylvania 
had, with much trepidation, ventured on the 
issue of a small bank of paper money : the day 
for its redemption was drawing near, the Lords 
of Trade had forbidden the issue of any more, 
and it seemed not unlikely that, in a little 
while, men would again be bartering hats for 
potatoes and flour for shoes because of the lack 
of a medium of exchange. 

The earliest of the many issues of paper 
money in what is now the United States took 
place when the French and English were deeply 
engaged in their first struggle for the possession 
of Canada. James had just been driven from 
his throne. William and Mary had just suc- 
ceeded, and the colonies, with every manifesta- 
tion of delight, had taken up arms in defense 
of the authority of William, the Protestant reli- 
gion, and the right to catch cod off the Grand 
Banks. For a while the war was waged with 
varying success. The English devastated the 
island of Montreal, and the French retreated 
from Frontenac. Then the tide turned : the 
French rallied, took Pemaquid, drove the Eng- 
lish from every settlement east of Falmouth, 



56 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

burned Salmon Falls, and laid Schenectady in 
ashes. Driven to extremity, the English ral- 
lied, and in a congress at New York in 1690 
resolved on the conquest of Canada. New 
York and Connecticut were to send a land 
force against Montreal. Massachusetts and Ply- 
mouth sent a fleet against Quebec. Acadia fell, 
Port Royal surrendered, and New England 
ruled the coast to the eastern end of Nova 
Scotia. There success stopped. The command- 
ers of the English troops fell to quarreling, and 
the land expedition failed miserably. Fronte- 
nac, having no foe to oppose him, hurried to 
Quebec, and entered the city just as the New 
England fleet came sounding its way up the 
St. Lawrence. The summons to surrender the 
city was received with jeers. The fleet, unable 
to take Quebec without the aid of the army, 
sailed for Boston, to be scattered by storms 
along the coast. To commemorate this signal 
deliverance the French put up the Church of 
our Lady of Victory. To pay the cost of the 
expedition Massachusetts issued the first colo- 
nial paper money. In 1703 South Carolina fol- 
lowed her example. 

Scarcely had King William's war ended than 
Queen Anne's war broke out. Again the 
French and Indians came down from Canada, 
and, while Franklin was a child, laid waste the 



PAPER MONEY. 57 

towns of Massachusetts with fire and sword. 
Again the colonies sent ships and troops against 
Canada. Again they failed, and, to pay the 
cost, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Is- 
land, New York, and New Jersey imitated Mas- 
sachusetts and put out bills of credit. 

These early issues of credit-bills are not to 
be confounded with the " banks of paper 
money " of a later time. The amounts were 
small. The purpose was the payment of some 
pressing debt. But after the close of Queen 
Anne's war the belief sprang up in the minds 
of men that it was the duty of a government to 
provide a circulating medium, and that just as 
fast as that medium disappeared, the duty of 
the government was to make more. The colo- 
nists were heavy traders ; the balance of trade 
was against them. Their specie went over to 
England, and, unable to practice that self-denial 
necessary to bring the specie back, they clam- 
ored for a currency. Then the colonies turned 
pawn-brokers and money-lenders, set up loan 
offices, and issued banks of paper money. Then 
whoever held a mortgage, or owned the deed 
of an acre of land, or was possessed of a silver 
tankard or a ring of gold, might, if he chose, 
carry it to the loan office, leave it there, and 
take away in exchange a number of paper bills. 

In this folly Massachusetts led the way, in 



58 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

1714, with a bank of fifty thousand pounds; 
New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, 
quickly followed, and before seven years were 
gone the loan office was established in Pennsyl- 
vania and New Jersey. 

This was inevitable. The trade of New Jer- 
sey was with New York. The people of New 
York had a paper currency, and paid in paper 
for every cord of wood and for every boat-load 
of potatoes that came over the bay. These 
paper bills of New York, passing current with 
the farmers of New Jersey, drove out of circula- 
tion every pistole, every carolin, every chequin, 
every piece-of-eight, the bounds of the colony 
contained ; for the ingenuity of man never has 
and never can devise a plan for the common 
circulation of specie and debased paper bills. 

Thus, when 1723 came, the people of the Jer- 
seys were paying their debts with the money 
of New York, and their taxes with bits of plate, 
ear-rings and finger-rings, watches, and jewelry 
of every sort. Nor were coins much more plen- 
tiful in Pennsylvania. A few light pistoles, a 
few pieces-of-eight, a few English shillings, 
passed from hand to hand. But so far were they 
from supplying the needs of trade that the men 
of Chester besought the Assembly to make pro- 
duce a legal tender, to prohibit the exportation 
of coin, and to add one more shilling to the 



PAPER MONEY. 59 

Spanish dollar. The merchants of Philadelphia 
and the traders of Bucks sent up petitions for 
a paper currency. Most of these prayers were 
heard. Another shilling was added to the dol- 
lar ; produce was made a legal tender, and the 
best of all forms of colonial paper money was 
emitted. The bank was limited to fifteen thou- 
sand pounds ; four thousand to pay the debts of 
the province, and eleven thousand to be loaned 
to the people. As the law distinctly stated that 
the new money was to relieve the distress of 
the poor, no man was suffered to borrow more 
than one hundred pounds. Nor could he have 
even that unless he came to the loan office and 
deposited plate of three times the value, or 
mortgaged lands, houses, or ground-rents of 
twice the value of the sum he received, and 
agreed to pay into the treasury each year five 
per centum interest and one eighth the princi- 
pal. So quickly were the bills taken up, and 
so much were they liked, that another bank of 
thirty thousand pounds was issued before the 
year went out. 

When the Lords of Trade heard of these 
proceedings, they hastened to send back a dis- 
approval and a warning. The governor was 
bidden to recall the evils that had come upon 
other colonies from making bills of credit. The 
people were assured that nothing but tenderness 



60 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

for the men in whose hands the new money- 
was prevented the acts being laid before the 
king for repeaL A warning was given that, 
should any more acts emitting paper money be 
passed, they would surely be disallowed. On 
the first of March, 1731, the bills were to be- 
come irredeemable, and as that day came nearer 
and nearer the merchants and traders grew 
more and more uneasy, and more and more 
doubtful what to do. The opponents of paper 
money dwelt much on the danger of such a 
currency and the threat of the Lords of Trade. 
The friends of paper money had much to say 
of the brisk times that followed the issues 
of 1723. 

But the arguments that prevailed most, the 
arguments that brought over the doubting, 
that persuaded the governor and the assembly, 
in open defiance of the orders from England, 
not only to reissue the old money, but to put 
out thirty thousand pounds of new, were con- 
tained in a little pajnphlet from the pen of 
Franklin, entitled '' A Modest Inquiry into the 
Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency." 

" There is," he begins by saying, " a certain 
quantity of money needed to carry on trade. 
More than this sum can be productive of no 
real use. Less than this quantity is always 
productive of serious evils. Lack of money in 



PAMPHLET ON PAPER MONEY. 61 

a country puts up the rate of interest, and 
puts down the price of that part of produce 
used in trade. It keeps skilled workmen from 
coming in ; it induces many already in to go 
out ; it causes, in a country like America, a 
far greater use of English goods than there 
otherwise would be. These facts being under- 
stood, it is easy [he asserts] to see what kind 
of men will, in the face of these facts, be for, 
and what kind of men will be against, a fur- 
ther issue of paper bills. On the side of the 
enemies to the bills will be the lawyers, the 
money-lenders, the speculators in land, and the 
men who, in any way, are dependent upon them. 
On the side of the friends to the issue of bills 
will be the lovers of trade, the supporters of 
manufactures, and the men who have the inter- 
est of the proprietors of the province truly at 
heart. 

" The enemies to paper money cry out, that, 
if any more be issued, the value of the whole of 
it will sink." This suggests an inquiry into the 
nature of money in general, and bills of credit 
in particular. Money, he declares, " is a medium 
of exchange ; and whatever men agree to make 
the medium is, to those who have it, the very 
things they want, because it will buy for them 
the very things they want. It is cloth to him 
who wants cloth. It is corn to him who wants 



62 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

corn. Custom has made gold and silver the ma- 
terials for this medium of exchange. But the 
measure of value for this medium is not gold 
and silver, but labor. Labor is as much a meas- 
ure of the value of silver as of anything else. 
Suppose one man employed to raise corn, while 
another man is busy refining gold. At the end 
of a year the complete produce of corn and the 
complete produce of silver are the natural price 
of each other. If the one be twenty bushels 
and the other twenty ounces, then one ounce of 
silver is worth the labor of raising one bushel 
of corn. Money therefore, as bullion, is valua- 
ble by so much labor as it costs to produce that 
bullion. 

" But this bullion, when coined into money, 
is heavy, consumes time in the counting, cannot 
be easily hidden. Hence it is that at Ham- 
burgh, at Amsterdam, at London, at Venice, 
the centers of vast trade, men have resorted, for 
sake of convenience, to banks of deposit and 
bills of credit. Into the banks they put their 
gold and silver, and take out bills to the value 
of what they put in. Thus the money of the 
country is doubled, the banks loaning out the 
gold at interest, the people making their great 
payments in bills. 

'' As the men of Europe put in money for 
the security of the bills, so [says he] men in 



PAMPHLET ON PAPER MONEY. 63 

Pennsylvania, not having money, pledge their 
land." 

These principles stated, Franklin proceeds 
to consider which kind of security is the bet- 
ter, — whether bills issued on money or bills 
issued on land are more likely to fall in value. 
His answer is, of course, bills issued on money. 
" Gold and silver may become so plentiful that 
a coin which at one time purchased the labor of 
a man for twenty days, will not at another time 
purchase that same man's labor for fifteen days. 
Every credit bill issued on that coin as security 
must therefore depreciate." And this he claims 
is precisely what has taken place in Europe 
ever since the discovery of gold in America. 
"But in Pennsylvania the people are rapidly 
increasing, land is always in demand, its value 
is always rising, and bills of credit issued on it 
as security must of necessity grow more and 
more valuable every day." 

That Franklin was deceived by such shallow 
arguments, that he really meant what he said, 
is difiicult to believe. He has come down to 
us as the great teacher of thrift, of frugality, 
of fair and honest dealing. Yet man cannot 
devise anything more at variance with these 
virtues than paper money. It promotes spec- 
ulation ; it encourages extravagance ; every 
piece of it is a symbol of fraud. The value 



64 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

stamped upon its face is one thing; the real 
value is another thing. But Franklin was now 
a partisan, and was soon rewarded for his 
partisanship. Had he meddled in theology, had 
he written a pamphlet on the Keithian schism, 
the presses of Andrew Bradford and David 
Harry would have teemed, with replies. But he 
wrote on a question of political economy. Not 
a man among the supporters of specie money 
could reply, and his remarks were hailed as 
unanswerable. When, therefore, his friends 
carried the day, and thirty thousand pounds in 
paper money was ordered to be printed, Ben- 
jamin Franklin was made the printer. " A 
very profitable job," says he in the Autobio- 
graphy, " and a great help to me." 

Bad as were his notions of political economy, 
his pamphlet contained one great truth, — the 
truth that labor is a measure of value. Whether 
he discovered, or, as is not unlikely, borrowed 
it, he was the first to openly assert it ; and his 
it remained till, forty-seven years later, Adam 
Smith adopted and reaffirmed it in " The 
Wealth of Nations." 



CHAPTER III. 

1729-1748. 

The pamphlet on paper money finished, 
Franklin wrote nothing for six months. By 
that time Keimer had fallen deeply in debt, had 
been dragged to jail for the ninth time, had 
compounded with his creditors, had been liber- 
ated, had failed again, and had sold his news- 
paper to Franklin & Meredith for a trifle. 
Ninety subscribers then took the " Instructor " 
each week, and thirty-nine weekly numbers had 
been issued. With the fortieth, which bears 
date October 2, 1729, a new era opened. The 
silly name was cut down to " The Pennsyl- 
vania Gazette." The Quaker nomenclature 
was dropped, " The Religious Courtship " ceased 
to be published. Except at long intervals, no 
extracts from Chambers's Dictionary appeared ; 
and, for the first time in the history of our 
country, a newspaper was issued twice a week. 
In this Franklin was far, indeed too far, in 
advance of the age, and, when the bad weather 
came and the postrider made his trips northward 



6Q BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

but once a fortnight, the " Gazette " once more 
became a weekly paper, and remained so for 
years. 

Thus stripped of nonsense, the " Gazette " 
began to be conducted on strictly business 
principles. Franklin knew that to make it 
profitable he must have advertisements, that to 
secure advertisements he must have circulation, 
and that to get circulation he must have buyers 
out of town. But to get out-of-town subscrib- 
ers was no easy matter. Newspapers were not 
mailable. The postriders, therefore, could not 
be forced to take the " Gazette," and Bradford, 
who was postmaster, would not allow them to 
take it voluntarily. They were accordingly 
bribed in secret to smuggle the " Gazettes " 
into their postbags, and do their best to secure 
subscriptions. 

To get a circulation in Philadelphia Frank- 
lin resorted to clever expedients. He strove 
to make the " Gazette " amuse its readers, and 
to persuade the readers to write for the " Ga- 
zette ; " for he well knew that every contrib- 
utor would buy a dozen copies of the paper 
containing his piece from sheer love of seeing 
himself in print. 

In the first number published under his name 
this invitation is very modestly given. He 
knew it was a common belief that the author 



THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE. 67 

of a newspaper should be a man well versed in 
languages, in geography, in history; be able to 
speak of wars, both by land and sea ; be famil- 
iar with the interests of princes and states, 
the secrets of courts, the manners and customs 
of all nations ; have a ready pen, and be able 
to narrate events clearly, intelligently, and in 
a few words. But such men were scarce in 
these remote parts, of the world, and the printer 
therefore must hope to make up among his 
friends what was wanting in himself. And 
this invitation is repeated again and again. As- 
surances are given that a series of papers on 
" Speculation " and " Amusement " are shortly 
to be published, and gentlemen " disposed to try 
their hands in some little performance " are 
urged to make use of this chance. No gentle- 
men were disposed to try their hands, and the 
papers never appeared. Some essays on " Prim- 
itive Christianity" did appear, and, having of- 
fended the orthodox, they are urged to inform 
the public what is the truth. 

There is no reason to suppose that such 
appeals produced a single essay. But the pre- 
tense that they did is well kept up, and for 
many years the editor carried on a lively corre- 
spondence with himself. He starts a question 
of casuistry in one number, and answers it in 
the next. He suggests and discusses reforms 



68 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

and improvements in long communications be- 
ginning, " Mr. Printer," and, when the town is 
dull, has a letter from Alice Addertongue, or a 
note from Bob Brief, or a piece of pleasantry- 
just coarse enough to excite a laugh. Now he 
pretends that he is besought to — 

" Pray let the prettiest creature in this place 
know (by publishing this) that if it was not 
for her affectation she would be absolutely irre- 
sistible ; " and, of course, in the next issue of 
the " Gazette " has six denials from the six 
prettiest creatures in the place. He hears that 
in Bucks County a flash of lightning melted the 
pewter button off the waistband of a farmer's 
breeches, and observes, " 'T is well nothing 
else thereabouts was made of pewter." An- 
other week the casuist offers an " honorary re- 
ward to any cabalist " who shall demonstrate 
that Z contains more occult virtue than X. 
Then there is " a pecuniary gratification " for 
anybody who shall prove " that a man's having 
a Property in a tract of land, more or less, is 
thereby entitled to any advantage, irrespective 
of understanding, over another Fellow, who has 
no other Estate than the air to breathe in, the 
Earth to walk upon, and all the rivers of the 
world to drink of." When nothing else will 
serve, his own mishaps are described for the 
amusement of the town. " Thursday last, a cer- 



THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE. 69 

tain P r ('t is not customary to give names 

at length on these occasions) walking carefully 
in clean Clothes over some Barrels of Tar on 
Carpenter's Wharff, the head of one of them 
unluckily gave way, and let a Leg of him in 
above the Knee. Whether he was upon the 
Catch at that time, we cannot say, but 't is 
certain he caught a Tar-tar, 'T was observed 
he sprang out again right briskly, verifying 
the common saying, As nimble as a Bee in a 
Tarbarrel. You must know there are several 
sorts of Bees : 'tis true he was no Honey Bee, 
nor yet a Humble Bee ; but a Boo-Bee he may 
be allowed to be, namely B. F." 

His more serious contributions to the " Ga- 
zette " may be classed as dialogues, as bad as 
those of any writer ; pieces of domestic and 
political economy after the manner of " Poor 
Richard ; " moral essays and pieces of pleas- 
antry and mirth, which he has himself de- 
clared " have a secret charm in them to allay 
the heats and tumours of our spirits, and to 
make a man forget his restless resentments." 

Writings of this description would usually 
appear when storms delayed the London packets 
and the " Craftsman " and the " British Jour- 
nal " failed to come to hand ; when winter in- 
terrupted travel, and the postman made his 
trips northward but once a fortnight ; when the 



70 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

freezing of the rivers shut out the coasters, and 
news grew scarce and trade grew dull ; when the 
town, no longer absorbed in business, was more 
than ever ready to be amused. Anything to 
break the dullness was acceptable, and some- 
thing was sure to come. One week he affects 
to be one of the tribe of pedants whose business 
it is to expurgate, annotate, and deface the text 
of ancient authors with silly comments and with 
useless notes ; takes a nursery rhyme for his 
text ; has much to say of readings, manuscripts, 
and versions ; and treats his readers to a good 
satire, which has, in our day, found an uncon- 
scious imitator in the author of the sermon on 
" Old Mother Hubbard." Another week he is 
a purchaser laughing at the tradesmen for al- 
ways protesting that they sell wares for less than 
cost ; and in the next number is a tradesman 
laughing at buyers who assert in every shop 
they enter that the goods they are examining 
can be had for less elsewhere. But better than 
any of these are " The Meditations on a Quart 
Mug," the account of the witch trial at Mount 
Holly, and the " Speech of Miss Polly Baker 
before a Court of Judicatory in New England, 
where she was presented for the fifth time for 
having a Bastard Child." 

To a generation that frowns on Tom Jones 
and Peregrine Pickle, the speech of Miss Polly 



THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE. 71 

is coarse in the extreme. But it enjoyed in its 
own time an immense popularity, was printed 
and reprinted for fifty years, was cited by Abbe 
Raynal in his " Histoire Philosopliique des 
Deux Indes " as a veritable fact, and is assur- 
edly a rare piece of wit. The account of the 
witch - ducking is nearly as witty, cannot be 
accused of being coarse, is not to be found 
among Franklin's collected writings, and may 
therefore be given in full. 

" Saturday last, at Mount Holly, about eight 
miles from this place [Burlington], near three 
hundred people were gathered together to see an 
experiment or two tried on some persons ac- 
cused of witchcraft. It seems the accused had 
been charged with making the neighbours' sheep 
dance in an uncommon manner, and with caus- 
ing hogs to speak and sing Psalms, etc., to the 
great terror and amazement of the king's good 
and peaceful subjects in the province ; and the 
accusers, being very positive that if the accused 
were weighed against a Bible, the Bible would 
prove too heavy for them ; or that, if they were 
bound and put into the River they would swim ; 
the said accused, desirous to make innocence 
appear, voluntarily offered to undergo the said 
trials if two of the most violent of their accus- 
ers would be tried with them. Accordingly the 
time and place was agreed on and advertised 



72 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

about the country. The accused were one man 
and one woman : and the accusers the same. 
The parties being met and the people got to- 
gether, a grand consultation was held before 
they proceeded to trial, in which it was agreed 
to use the scales first ; and a committee of men 
were appointed to search the man, and a com- 
mittee of women to search the woman, to see if 
they had anything of weight about them, par- 
ticularly pins. After the scrutiny was over a 
huge great Bible belonging to the Justice of the 
Peace was produced, and a lane through the 
populace was made from the Justice's house to 
the scales, which were fixed on a gallows erected 
for that purpose opposite to the house, that the 
Justice's wife and the rest of the ladies might 
see the trial without coming among the mob, 
and after the manner of Moorefield a large ring 
was also made. Then came out of the house a 
grave, tall man carrying the Holy Writ before 
the wizard as solemnly as the sword-bearer of 
London before the Lord Mayor. The wizard 
was first placed in the scale, and over him was 
read a chapter out of the Book of Moses, and 
then the Bible was put in the other scale, which, 
being kept down before, was immediately let 
go ; but, to the great surprise of the spectators, 
flesh and blood came down plump and out- 
weighed that great good Book by abundance. 



THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE. 73 

After the same manner the others were served, 
and the lumps of mortality severally were too 
heavy for Moses and all the Prophets and Apos- 
tles. This being over, the accusers and the 
rest of the mob, not being satisfied with the ex- 
periment, would have trial by water. Accord- 
ingly a most solemn procession was made to the 
mill-pond, where the accused and accusers, be- 
ing stripped (saving only to the women their 
shifts) were bound hand and foot and severally 
placed in the water, lengthways, from the side 
of a barge or Flat, having for security only a 
rope about the middle of each, which was held 
by some one in the Flat. The accuser man 
being thin and spare with some difficulty began 
to sink at last ; but the rest, every one of them, 
swam very light upon the water. A sailor in 
the Flat jumped out upon the back of the man 
accuser thinking to drive him down to the bot- 
tom ; but the person bound, without any help, 
came up some time before the other. The wo- 
man accuser being told that she did not sink, 
would be ducked a second time ; when she swam 
again as light as before. Upon which she de- 
clared that the accused had bewitched her to 
make her so light, and that she would be ducked 
again a hundred times but that she would duck 
the Devil out of her. The accused man, being 
surprised at his own swimming, was not so con- 



74 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

fident of his own innocence as before, but said, 
'If I am a witch, it is more than I know.' 
The more thinking part of the spectators were 
of opinion that any person so bound and placed 
in the water (unless they were mere skin and 
bones) would swim till their breath was gone, 
and their lungs filled with water. But it being 
the general belief of the populace that the wo- 
men's shifts and the garters with which they 
were bound helped to support them, it is said 
they are to be tried again the next warm 
weather, naked." 

This readiness of Franklin to provoke laugh- 
ter sometimes cost him dear. Thus it happened 
on one occasion that he was called on to print a 
notice setting forth that a certain ship would, on 
a certain day, sail for a certain port in the Bar- 
badoes, and that freighters and passengers might 
make terms with the captain on the wharf. He 
made of the notice just such a hand bill as it 
was then the custom to fasten on the walls of 
the coffee-houses and the taverns, and, to insure 
the bill being read, added these words of his 
own : " N. B. No Sea Hens, nor Black Gowns, 
will be admitted on any terms." The end was 
at once attained. No one who read the notice 
but went straightway and brought some one else 
to read it, and in a few days the whole town 
was laughing at the Black Gowns, and asking 
what a Sea Hen could be. 



THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE. 75 

But the Black Gowns saw nothing to laugh 
at ; took offense, and sent Franklin notice that 
as a punishment for his maliciousness they not 
only would cease buying his " Gazette," but 
would use their best endeavors to prevent others 
from buying. 

Franklin kept his temper and replied. He 
was, he said, so often censured by people for 
printing things they thought ought not to be 
printed, that he was strongly tempted to write 
a standing apology and publish it once a year. 
These faultfinders forgot the difference between 
the printing trade and any other trade. A table 
constructed by a Jew, a pair of shoes made by 
au infidel, a piece of ironmongery beaten out 
by a heretic, give no offense to the most or- 
thodox. But a printer had to do with men's 
opinions. Opinions were as various as faces, and 
it was therefore impossible to get a living by 
printing without offending some one, or per- 
haps many. It was unreasonable for any man, 
or any set of men, to expect to be pleased with 
everything put in type. It was unreasonable 
to suppose that printers approved of everything 
they put in type, or to insist that they should 
print only what they did approve. If they 
sometimes put forth vicious and silly things not 
worth reading, they did so, not because they 
liked such things themselves, but because the 



76 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

people were so viciously educated that good 
things were not encouraged. A small impres- 
sion of The Psalms of David had been upon his 
shelves for above two years : yet he had known 
a large impression of Robin Hood's Songs to 
go off in a twelvemonth. As for the hand bill 
that caused so much offense, he printed it, not 
because he hated the clergy, nor because he 
despised religion, but because he got five shil- 
lings by printing it, whicb was just five shil- 
lings more than anybody would have given him 
to let it alone. When he considered the variety 
of humors among men, he despaired of pleas- 
ing everybody. Yet he should not on that ac- 
count leave off printing. He should go on with 
the business ; he should not burn his press nor 
melt his type. 

When he again offended and was called to 
an account, the reply was very different. A 
barber, hair-dresser, and peruke-maker who had 
long been advertising in the " Gazette" sud- 
denly informed the public that he would no 
longer shave and cut hair. News being scarce 
and the taverns dull, Franklin took the notice 
for a text, printed it at the head of an essay 
on shavers and trimmers in business, in politics, 
and in the church, and heard from every adver- 
tiser in his newspaper. If this thing went on, 
he was given to understand, there would soon be 



THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE. 77 

an end to all advertising. What guaranty had 
they that the next merchant who advertised 
Jamaica rum or very good sack would not see 
his notice at the head of a long disquisition on 
Drunkards and the Evils of Drink ? 
To these protests Franklin replied : — 
" My paper on ' Shavers and Trimmers ' in 
the last ' Gazette ' being generally condemned, 
I at first imputed it to the want of Taste and 
Relish for pieces of that Force and Beauty 
which none but thoroughly-bred Gentlemen 
can produce. But upon advice of Friends, whose 
judgement I could depend on, I examined my- 
self, and to my shame must confess that I found 
myself to be an uncircumcised Jew, whose Ex- 
crescences of Hair, Nails, Flesh, &c., did burthen 
and disgrace my Natural Endowments ; but hav- 
ing my Hair and Nails since lopp'd off and shorn, 
and my fleshy Excrescences circumcised, I now 
appear in my wonted Lustre and expect speedy 
admission among the Levites, which I have 
already the honor of among the Poets and 
Natural Philosophers. I have one thing more 
to say, which is, that I had no real animosity 
against the person whose advertisement I made 
the matter of my paper." 

Among the papers on domestic economy, the 
complaint of Anthony Afterwit, who has been 
hurried from one piece of extravagance to 



78 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

another by a foolish wife ; the reply of Patience 
Teacroft defending the wife; the letter of Celia 
Single on the idleness and extravagance of men, 
are decidedly the best productions. Franklin 
was a born moralist. When a lad of twenty 
he wrote a letter to his sister, a girl of fifteen, 

j on the duties of a housewife, which in its kind 
is inimitable. It was quite in his natural vein. 
But the moment he quitted this natural vein 
and undertook compositions of another sort, he 
began to utter the stale sayings of the school- 
boy and the preacher. His remarks on the 
" Usefulness of Mathematics," on *' Govern- 
ment," on " How to Please in Conversation ; " 
his dialogues between Philocles and Horatius, 
between Socrates and Critico, between Socrates 
and Glaucon, between two Presbyterians on 
staying away from church, in which the beha- 
vior of Mr. Hemphill is warmly defended, — 
are not worth reading. The pieces called " The 
Family of the Boxes " and " The Drinkers' Dic- 
tionary," are positively foolish. On the other 

Ihand, " The Meditations on a Quart Mug," and 
the " Thoughts of the Ephemera on Human 

/ Vanity," which he afterwards rewrote for 
Madame Brillon, could not have been done bet- 
ter by Addison himself. 

Below these, and much below, are the essays 
against swearing, " On Lying Tradesmen," *' On 



THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE. 79 

Scandal," " On the Waste of Life," <•'• On True 
Happiness," " On the Rules and Maxims for 
Promoting Matrimonial Happiness." Mingled 
with these are pieces of a very different kind, — 
pieces whose purpose is either to bring about 
some needed reform, or strongly affect public 
opinion. One of his earliest attempts at this 
sort of writing was in 1735, when he became 
for a time embroiled in a dispute with the 
Presbyterian ministers. The cause of the 
trouble was Samuel Hemphill, a young Presby- 
terian preacher, who came from the north of 
Ireland. Hemphill had been licensed by the 
Presbytery of Strabane, had been tried for 
heresy, had been acquitted, had come over to 
America, and had been followed by a letter 
from one of his old foes. The letter set forth 
that Mr. Hemphill was a Deist, a New-Light 
man, or a heretic of some sort, and ought not to 
be suffered to have a place in the true fold. The 
busybody to whom it was sent carried it to the 
minister, read it to all who would listen, and 
Mr. Hemphill was soon before the presbytery 
of New Castle. He was again acquitted, and 
came to Philadelphia, where Jedidiah Andrews, 
who preached in the old Buttonwood Church, 
gave up the pulpit to him once each Sunday. 
Young, eloquent, with a good delivery and an 
easy flow of words, he drew crowds to hear, 



80 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

and of those who listened none liked him bet- 
ter than Franklin. 

Andrews meanwhile grew jealous, and went 
among the congregation calling Hemphill a 
Deist, a Socinian, a missionary sent from Ire- 
land to corrupt the faith once delivered to the 
saints, and soon had him before a commission 
of the synod. There Andrews accused him of 
saying and doing dreadful things. So depraved 
was Hemphill that, when he prayed, he prayed 
not for any church, nor for any minister, but for 
all mankind. In summing up the distempers 
of the soul, he said nothing of the distemper by 
original sin. He had been heard to say that 
reason is our rule, and was given for a rule. 
He had spoken against the need of spiritual 
pangs in order to conversion. The commission, 
to their great grief, found him guilty and sus- 
pended him. Thereupon Franklin took up his 
cause, and wrote in his defence two pamphlets 
and two pieces in the " Gazette." One of the 
pieces was called " A Dialogue between two 
Presbyterians on Staying Away from Church." 
The other, which soon appeared as a pamphlet, 
was called " A Letter to a Friend in the Country 
Containing the Substance of a Sermon preach'd 
at Philadelphia, in the Congregation of the 
Rev. Mr. Hemphill." A third, and the stron- 
gest of them all, is " Some Observations on the 



THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE. 81 

Proceedings against the Rev. Mr. Hemphill ; 
with a Vindication of his Sermons." It was 
eagerly read, passed rapidly through two edi- 
tions, and quickly led to a violent pamphlet 
war. One writer answered the " Letter to a 
Friend" in a pamphlet of thirty-two pages. 
Another, or perhaps the same, attacked the 
" Observations " in a yet longer pamphlet en- 
titled " A Vindication of the Reverend Com- 
mission of the Synod," and was in turn promptly 
answered by Franklin. He called his pam- 
phlet " A Defense of the Rev. Mr. Hemphill's 
Observations," gave a sketch of Mr. HemphilFs 
history, took up the charges preferred by Mr. 
Andrews, examined them carefully, went over 
the finding of the reverend commission, accused 
it of acting after the manner and with the spirit 
of the Spanish Inquisition, and provoked a reply 
most ruinous to his cause. The title was, " Re- 
marks upon the Defense," and the author de- 
clared Mr. Hemphill to be a reverend plagiary, 
and made good the charge. One of his sermons 
he had taken from Dr. Clarke, an open Arian. 
Three more were the work of Dr. Ibbots, who 
assisted Dr. Clarke. Yet another was taken 
from a published sermon of Dr. Forster. Hemp- 
hill afterwards owned to Franklin that each of 
his sermons was the work of some one else. 
But even then his defender flinched not, and 



82 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

stoutly declared that he would far rather hear 
a good though borrowed sermon, than a sermon 
that was original and bad. 

When Franklin wrote his Autobiography, he 
did not believe a copy of one of his pamphlets 
to be extant. Sparks, when editing the doctor's 
works, asserted that none of them had ever 
been found. Both were mistaken. Copies of 
each of the pamphlets are in existence, and 
have, within quite recent years, been sold at 
the auction block. 

Franklin next took up the matter of reform. 
Whenever he had such work to do, it was his 
custom to write a paper with great care on the 
abuse to be corrected, and read it some evening 
to the Junto. If the Junto thought well of it, 
he would put "Mr. Franklin," or "To the 
Printer," at the top, and " Philadelphus," or 
" Old Tradesman," at the bottom, and publish 
it in the " Gazette." An answer or two, like- 
wise written by Franklin, would follow, and in 
a few weeks the city council, or the grand jury, 
or the assembly, would have the matter in 
charge. 

It was by such means that he reformed the 
city watch ; that he established the fire compa- 
nies ; that he persuaded the people to light the 
streets, to sweep the pavements around the 
market, and to organize the first militia. On 



THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE. 8d 

the 1st of July, 1700, when the city was still 
a little place, the governor and council estab- 
lished the watch. The watch consisted of one 
good and trusty man, who each night went the 
rounds of the city, rang a small bell, cried the 
hours, described the weather, and roused the 
constable if he spied a chimney burning, or met 
a drunken Indian on the streets. Five years 
later, when the city was thought a great one 
and ten wards were established, the constable 
of each in turn was commanded to summon 
every day nine citizens, who, with himself, 
should constitute the watch for his ward. 

The duty of these ten men has been clearly 
laid down in a charge which, for absurdity, is 
surpassed by that of Dogberry alone. But 
nothing in the charge made the watch as 
worthless as the conduct of the citizens them- 
selves. Six shillings paid to the constable would 
secure exemption from his warning for a year ; 
and that man was poor indeed who could not 
get together six shillings to be free of such ser- 
vice. The band, therefore, that went with the 
constable on his nightly rounds, came in time 
to be made up of the very scum of the town. 
They passed whole nights in the tippling 
houses ; they often ceased to walk their rounds, 
and, when they did, to meet them was more to 
be dreaded than meeting a thief. To end this 



84 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

abuse, Franklin proposed a permanent, well- 
paid watch ; addressed himself first to the 
Junto, and then to the people, who addressed 
and petitioned the assembly for eight years 
before the reform was made. 

His suggestions for the better extinguishing 
of fires were more speedily adopted. For the 
prevention of fires the law prescribed in what 
kind of ovens bakers should bake bread, in what 
kind of shops coopers should make casks ; fined 
any man who smoked on the streets of the built 
part of the city, or suffered his sooty chimney 
to burst into flame ; and compelled captains of 
ships moored at the wharf to put out all fires 
when the clock struck eight, unless the mayor 
gave a license to keep them burning. For ex- 
tinguishing fires, each householder kept in his 
shop or his pantry a bucket and a fourteen-foot 
swab ; while the city provided hooks, ladders, 
and three rude engines of English make. At the 
first cry of fire the whole town was in excite- 
ment ; the laborer quit his work, the apprentice 
dropped his tools, buyers and sellers swarmed 
from the market ; and the shopkeeper, calling 
his wife to watch his goods, seized his bucket 
and hurried away. About the burning building 
all was confusion and disorder. No man was in 
authority. Each man did as he pleased. Some 
fell into line and helped to pass the full buckets 



THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE. 85 

from the pump to the engine, or the empty- 
buckets from the engine to the pump; some 
caught up the hooks and pulled down blazing 
boards and shingles ; some rushed into the build- 
ing with their ozenbrig bags, and came out la- 
den with household stuff. 

All this energy, excellent as it was, seemed 
to Franklin misused. If so much could be done 
in a way so bad, a hundred-fold more, he 
thought, could be done if a little order were 
introduced. Thinking so, he wrote two papers 
on the subject of fires, read them to the Junto, 
and published them in the " Gazette." The 
matter is in no wise remarkable ; but the style 
is a good specimen of persuasive argument. 
That they had this effect on people in general 
is doubtful ; but they did on the Junto, who 
quickly formed the Union Fire Company, the 
first of its kind in the proyince. Others fol- 
lowed their example, and to the " Union," 
"The Hand-in-hand" and "The Heart-in- 
hand " were soon added. 

Yet another of his pieces in the " Gazette " 
must not be passed over in silence. It is in 
verse, and is a paraphrase of the sublime lamen- 
tation of David over the death of Jonathan and 
Saul. He begins by stating his belief that the 
art of poetry was made known to the Hebrews 
by Moses ; gives reasons for thinking so ; takes 



86 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

up the lamentation, and observes that it has 
many times been paraphrased in English, that 
none of the paraphrases are quite to his mind, 
and that he will therefore give the reader one 
of his own make, as bad perhaps as any of 
them. The poem is long ; but a few stanzas 
will serve as a specimen of all : — 



Unhappy Day ! distressing sight, 

Israel, the Land of Heaven's delight, 

How is thy strength, thy beauty fled ! 

On the high places of the fight. 

Behold thy Princes f all'n, thy Sons of Victory dead. 



Ne'er be it told in Gath, nor known 
Among the streets of Askelon ; 
How will Philista's youth rejoice 
And triumph in thy shame, 
And girls with weak unhallow'd voice 
Chant the dishonors of the Hebrew name ! 



Mountains of Gilboa, let no dew 
Nor fruitful shower descend on you ; 
Curse on your fields thro' all the year ! 
No flow'ry blessing there appear. 
Nor golden ranks of harvest stand 
To grace the altar, nor to seed the land. 
'T was on those inauspicious fields 
Judean heroes lost their shields. 
'T was there (ah, base reproach and scandal of the day !) 

Thy shield, O Saul ! was cast away, 
As tho' the Prophet's horn had never shed 
Its sacred odors on thy head. 



THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE. 87 

Many years later, when age and experience 
should have taught him better, he again made a 
paraphrase of a chapter of Job. In no book, it 
is safe to say, is the force and beauty of the 
English tongue so finely shown as in King 
James's Bible. But on Franklin that force and 
beauty were wholly lost. The language he 
pronounced obsolete. The style he thought 
not agreeable, and he was for a new rendering 
in which the turn of phrase and manner of 
expression should be modern. That there 
might be no mistake as to his meaning, he gave 
a sample of how the work should be done ; took 
some verses from the first chapter of Job, 
stripped them of every particle of grace, 
beauty, imagery, terseness, and strength, and 
wrote a paraphrase which, of all paraphrases 
of the Bible, is surely th.e worst. 

JOB. FRANKLIN. 

Verse 6. Now there was Verse 6. And it being 

a day when the sons of levee day in Heaven, all 

God came to present them- God's nobility came to court 

selves before the Lord, and to present themselves be- 

Satan came also amongst fore him ; and Satan also 

them. appeared in the circle, as 

one of the ministry. 

7. And the Lord said unto 7. And God said unto 

Satan,Whence comest thou? Satan, You have been some 

Then Satan answered the time absent ; where were 

Lord and said, From going you? And Satan answered, 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 



to and fro in the earth, and 
from walking up and down 
in it.. 

8. And the Lord said un- 
to Satan, Hast thou con- 
sidered my servant Job, 
that there is none Kke him 
in the earth, a perfect and 
an upright man, one that 
feareth God and escheweth 
evil? 

9. And Satan answered 
the Lord and said. Doth 
Job fear God for naught? 



I have been at my country- 
seat, and in different places 
visiting my friends. 

8. And God said, Well, 
what think you of Lord 
Job? You see he is my 
best friend, a perfectly 
honest man, full of respect 
for me, and avoiding every 
thing that might offend me. 

9. And Satan answered. 
Does your majesty imagine 
that his good conduct is the 
effect of personal attach- 
ment and affection? 



IL But put forth thine 11. Try him — onlywith- 
hand now, and touch all draw your favor, turn him 
that he hath, and he will out of his places, and with- 
curse thee to thy face. hold his pensions, and you 

will soon find him in the 

opposition. 

The plan is beneath criticism. Were such 
a piece of folly ever begun, there would remain 
but one other depth of folly to which it would 
be possible to go down. Franklin proposed to 
fit out the Kingdom of Heaven with lords, 
nobles, a ministry, and levee days. It would on 
the same principle be proper to make another 
version suitable for republics ; a version from 
which every term and expression peculiar to 






THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE. 89 

^ a monarchy should be carefully kept out, and 
only such as are applicable to a republic put in. 
Nor would he have hesitated to make such a 
version. The Bible was to him in no sense a 
book foT spiritual guidance. It showed a most 
amazing knowledge of the heart of man, 
of the actions of men, of the passions and 
temptations of men, and of the way in which 
during moments of passion and temptation 
men would surely act. It abounded in exam- 
ples as often to be shunned as followed. It 
taught just such lessons as he was teaching, — 
lessons of honesty, thrift, diligence, worldly 
wisdom, and sometimes of politics. But it dis- 
played this knowledge, held up these examples, 
and taught these lessons, that men might be 
happier, not in another world, but in this. 

Hence it was that the first chapter of Job 
taught him nothing but a lesson in politics. In 
a piece called " The Levee," and still placed 
among the bagatelles, Franklin set forth his 
understanding of the strange scene, and asks 
what instruction is to be gathered from it. 
His answer is ready : " Trust not a single per- 
son with the government of your state. For if 
the Deity himself, being the monarch, may for 
a time give way to calumny, and suffer it to 
operate the destruction of the best of subjects, 
what mischief may you not expect from such 



90 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

power in a mere man, though the best of men, 
from whom the truth is often industriously 
hidden, and to whom falsehood is often pre- 
sented in its place by artful, interested, and 
malicious courtiers? " 

Distasteful as the language of Scripture was 
to Franklin, he nevertheless wrote two pieces 
in close imitation. The first he called " A Par- 
able Against Persecution," printed it in the 
same way Bibles are printed, and fastened it in 
his own copy at the end of Genesis as the fifty- 
first chapter of that book. His custom then 
was, on some evening when a host of friends 
were seated about him, to lead the talk to the 
subject of parables, bring out his Bible, read 
the pretended chapter of Genesis, and listen 
with delight while his guests one by one de- 
clared they had never heard the parable 
before, nor knew such a chapter of Genesis 
existed. 

In this way Lord Kames saw it, and in 1774 
reprinted the parable in his " Sketches of 
the History of Man." Thence it passed to 
Vaughan's edition of Franklin's work,s, and so 
to volume 50 of the Gentleman's Magazine, 
where a lively dispute soon took place over the 
question who wrote it. An admirer of Jeremy 
Taylor informed Mr. Urban that Franklin had 
taken the parable bodily from Taylor's " Polem- 



TEE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE. 91 

ical Discourses," where it could be found at the 
end of the twenty-second section of " The Lib- 
erty of Prophesying." This was true, and the 
curious began at once to ask where Taylor got 
it ; for he headed the parable with the words, 
" I end with a story which I find in the Jews' 
Books." At last a writer in the Repository 
for May, 1788, announced that he had found 
the " Jews' Book," that it had been published 
at Amsterdam in 1651, had been translated by 
George Gentius, and that in the dedication 
was the parable, ascribed to the Persian poet 
Saadi. Lord Teignmouth now translated the 
version of Saadi, and sent it to Bishop Heber, 
who put it among the notes to his " Life of 
Jeremy Taylor." Franklin meanwhile was 
warmly defended in the Repository for June, 
1788, and declared, in a letter to Mr. Vaughan, 
that the Scripture language and the two verses 
at the end were all he could claim as his own. 
But the discussion as to where he got it was 
still going on in the Gentleman's Magazine as 
late as 1791. In 1794 the Parable was printed 
at London in the form of a tract, and sold for 
a halfpenny. 

The second parable is on brotherly love. 
Some Midian merchants passing by with camels 
bearing spices, myrrh, and iron- ware, Reuben 
buys an axe. There is none other in his father's 



92 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

house, and Simeon, Levi, and Judah come in 
turn to borrow it. But Reaben will not lend, 
and the brothers are forced to send after the 
Ishmaelite merchants and buy each of them an 
axe for himself. Now it happens, as Reuben 
hews timber on the river-bank, his axe falls 
into the water. Unable to find it, he goes in 
turn to Lis brothers to borrow. Simeon refuses. 
Levi consents, but consents so grudgingly that 
Reuben will not borrow ; whereupon Judah 
seeing bis distress, hastens to him and offers the 
axe unasked. 

Each of these pieces was much admired, and 
the fame of them involved Franklin in a work 
that signally failed. Sir Francis Dash wood 
was then busy abridging the Book of Com- 
mon Prayer. Lord Le Despencer asked Frank- 
lin to help. He did so, wrote the preface, cut 
down the catechism, and paraphrased the 
Psalms. This new catechism consisted of two 
questions : What is your duty to God ? and 
What is your duty to your neighbor? The 
new Psalms were what was left of the old ones 
when repetitions and imprecations had been 
taken out. Poetry had no charms for him. He 
seldom read any. He never wrote any. The 
most that can be said of his verses is, that for 
so matter-of-fact a man some of them are very 
good. 



THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE. 93 

Of doggerel he has left plenty. The lines 
that stand at the heads of the monthly calen- 
dars in " Poor Richard " are his. There is 
more of the same kind in the Gazette. But 
of good verse, not six pieces are extant. The 
Lines on Paper; the Drinking Song for the 
Junto, beginning '' Fair Venus calls ; " " My 
Plain Country Joan ; " " David's Lamenta- 
tion," and a humorous poem never published, 
make up the list. The unpublished piece is 
among his papers in the State Department at 
Washington. 

After 1740, Franklin almost ceased to con- 
tribute essays to the Gazette. In 1748 he 
sold it, with his printing-house, to his partner 
David Hall. As a newspaper there is little to 
be said in its behalf. The printing is well done, 
for, as a printer, the colonies did not produce his 
equal. But as an editor, he was outdone, and 
much outdone, by William Bradford of the 
Journal. It seemed impossible for him to rise 
above the job-printer. The years during which 
the printing-house and the Gazette were under 
his control were years of great literary activ- 
ity. During these years the press of Pennsyl- 
vania showed a boldness and fertility to which 
the press of no other colony approached. The 
classics were translated, magazines were begun, 
newspapers in foreign languages established. 



94 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

German type introduced, and the largest work 
printed before the Revolution issued. From 
the Pennsylvania press came, before 1748, 
" Epictetus his Morals," the first translation of 
a classic issued in America ; " Philadelphische 
Zeitung," the first German newspaper; and 
" Zionitischer Weyrauch-Hiigel," the first book 
printed from German type ; the first and second 
monthly magazine, and the first book published 
in a European tongue. Nor did enterprise end 
here. In 1764 came forth the first religious 
periodical, and in 1785 the first daily newspaper 
in North America. Yet for all this activity we 
owe nothing or next to nothing to Franklin. 
The encouragement he gave to letters was not 
by printing good books, but by putting it in 
the power of his poorer townsmen to read 
them. 

To bring this about he founded the Philadel- 
phia Library. The idea was not a sudden one. 
When a lad of one -and -twenty, in Keimer's 
employ, he formed his boon companions into 
the famous Junto. The number was limited 
to twelve, and no one could be a member till 
he had, with his hand upon his heart, declared 
that he loved mankind; that he thought no 
man ought to be harmed in body, name, or 
goods because of the opinions he held or the 
creed he followed ; that he loved truth for the 



THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE. 95 

sake of truth, should seek diligently for it, and 
when found make it known to others. On Fri- 
day evenings, when the Junto met, it was usual 
to read through a list of questions, which each 
one present must answer if he could, and to 
bring up some matter for general debate. The 
debates and the questions often made it neces- 
sary to bring a book, and noticing this, Franklin 
proposed that each should bring all the books 
he owned and leave them in the room of the 
Junto for the good of all. This was done. But 
when a year was gone, some of the members 
finding their books had been badly treated, took 
them away. Even for this Franklin had an 
expedient ready, and suggested that fifty sub- 
scribers be found who were willing to pay forty 
shillings down, and ten shillings a year there- 
after for maintaining a library. The sugges- 
tion seemed a good one, and the members of 
the Junto were soon carrying round papers to 
which subscribers set their names but slowly. 
Five months were spent in filling the list, four 
more went by before the shillings were col- 
lected. But at last, in March, 1732, forty-five 
pounds were sent to London to be laid out in 
the purchase of books. In October the first 
invoice arrived, and the Library was opened in 
the room where the Junto met. 



CHAPTER IV. 

1732-1748. 

When the year 1732 opened, Franklin's 
career of prosperity may be said to have be- 
gun. He had ended his partnership with 
Meredith, had paid his debts, had married a 
wife, set up a newspaper, and opened a shop, 
which defies description, hard by the market- 
place in High Street. There were to be had 
imported books, legal blanks, paper and parch- 
ment, Dutch quills and Aleppo ink, perfumed 
soap, Rhode Island cheese, chapbooks such as 
the peddlers hawked, pamphlets such as the 
Quakers read, live-geese feathers, bohea tea, 
coffee, very good sack, and cash for old rags. 
Everything connected with this miscellaneous 
business was carried on in strict accordance 
with the maxims of Poor Richard. No idle 
servant fattened in his house. His wife, in 
such moments as could be snatched from the 
kitchen and the tub, folded newspapers, 
stitched pamphlets, and sold inkhorns and 
pocket-books, which, as paper-money drove out 
the coin, came more and more into use. 



''POOR RICHARD.'* 9T 

Franklin meanwhile managed the printing- 
house, made lampblack, cast type, made rude 
cuts for the paper-money bills, and might be 
seen at times trundling home a wheelbarrow 
loaded with paper bought at some neighboring 
merchant's shop. 

Industrious, thrifty, saving, full of hard com- 
mon sense and worldly wisdom, he suffered no 
chance to pass unused, and rose rapidly to the 
place of chief printer in the province. The 
business of the place in a year would not now 
sufl&ce to keep a journeyman printer occupied 
three months. 'Never since the press had been 
set up in Pennsylvania had all the issues in any 
one year numbered thirty. In 1732 they were 
but nineteen ; but of the nineteen, three, bear- 
ing the imprint of Franklin, are noteworthy. 
One was " Philadelphische Zeitung," the first 
German newspaper printed in America. An- 
other was " The Honour of the Gout," a book 
that long afterwards suggested the famous Dia- 
logue between Franklin and the Gout. The 
third was the greatest of all almanacs — 
" Poor Richard." 

The publication of " Poor Richard " he was 
tempted to undertake by the quick and great 
returns such pamphlets were sure to bring in. 
For the mere copy of popular almanacs, printers 
were then compelled to pay down in advance 



98 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

from twenty to thirty pounds each year; no 
mean sum at a time when the chief justice 
was given but one hundred pounds a year, when 
the associate justice got but fifty pounds, and 
when the attorney-general was forced to be 
content with sixty. 

Such prices could well afford to be paid, for 
the almanac was the one piece of literature of 
which the sale was sure. Not a household for 
a hundred miles around the printer but, if there 
was sixpence to spare, would have a copy. 
In remote towns, where money was not to be 
had, a dozen copies would be bought with 
potatoes or wheat, and disposed of one by one, 
— at the blacksmith's for a few nails ; at the 
tavern for rum ; at some neighbor's in payment 
of a trifling debt. Chapmen carried them in 
their packs to exchange with copper kettles 
and china bowls, for worsted stockings and 
knit gloves. They were the diaries, the jour- 
nals, the account books of the poor. Strung 
upon a stick and hung beside the chimney- 
place, they formed an unbroken record of 
domestic affairs, in many instances for thirty 
years. On the margins of one since picked up 
at a paper mill are recorded the interesting 
cases of a physician's practice, and the names 
of those who suffered with the smallpox and 
the flux. Another has become a complete 



ALMANA C-MAKERS. 99 

journal of farm life. A third is filled with 
verses written in imitation of Pope and Young. 

It is not by mere chance that the second 
piece of printing done in the colonies, and the 
first piece done in the middle states, were 
almanacs. Samuel Atkins told no more than 
plain truth when, in the preface to " Kalenda- 
rium Pennsilvaniense," he declared that wher- 
ever he went in his travels he found the peo- 
ple so clamorous for an almanac that he was 
" really troubled," and did design according to 
his knowledge to " pleasure his countrymen " 
with what they wanted. 

But one attempt at almanac-making was 
enough for Atkins, and the next year Daniel 
Leeds took his place. Leeds describes himself 
as a " Student in Agriculture ; " but jack-of- 
all-trades would have been more just. Un- 
questionably a man of parts, he was by turns 
a cooper, a surveyor-general, a member of the 
assembly, a member of the New Jersey pro- 
vincial council, a book-maker, an almanac- 
maker, and, save one, the most prolific of all 
writers on the great schism stirred up by 
Keith. Even now his " News of a Trumpet," 
his " Trumpet Sounded," his " Hue and Cry," 
and his " Great Mystery of Fox-craft Discov- 
ered," are said to be far from tedious. But 
even Leeds, shrewd as he was, had not learned 



100 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

the art of almanac-making, put in what he in- 
tended for wit and fun, and brought down upon 
himself the anger of the Friends. The Burling- 
ton meeting condemned his almanac and bade 
him print nothing he had not first shown to 
them. The Philadelphia meeting brought up 
the edition, suppressed it, and not one copj^^ is 
extant. Leeds in alarm humbled himself in the 
dust, admitted that he had sinned, promised to 
write more soberly in the future, soon became 
an Episcopalian, and thenceforth reviled and 
was reviled by the Friends. 

When Bradford left Philadelphia, Leeds's 
almanac went with him to New York, and for 
six years no such work was printed in Pennsyl- 
vania. But with the revival of printing in 
1699 a new crop of philomaths, students in 
agriculture, and philodespots sprang up and 
flourished exceedingly. In 1732 there were, in 
Philadelphia alone, the almanacs of Evans, of 
Birkett, of Godfrey, of Taylor, of Jerman, Der 
Teutsche Pilgrim, and of Titan Leeds so 
exquisitely ridiculed in the early issues of 
" Poor Richard." 

The ingredients of all these books were the 
same. The title-page commonly did duty for 
a table of contents. The preface was devoted 
to describing the merits of what came after, to 
sneers at the critics of the last year's number, 



''POOR ROBINS 101 

and to the abuse of the works of rival philo- 
maths. Following the preface was the naked 
man bestriding the globe, the calendars of the 
months, the days for holding courts and fairs, 
a chronology that always went back to Adam, 
a list of British rulers in which Cromwell never 
had a place, verses destitute of feet and sense, 
and a serious prognostication of events as fore- 
told by eclipses and the planets. 

In writing their almanacs, American " philo- 
maths " without exception borrowed most freely 
from English contemporaries, and from this 
time-honored usage Franklin did not depart. 
Richard Saunders, who long edited the " Apollo 
Angelicanus," furnished the name under which 
he wrote. Poor Robin supplied the hint for the 
title, and many ideas for the general plan. 

" Poor Robin " was an English comic alma- 
nac defaced with the indecency and licentious- 
ness it was then the fashion to associate with 
wit, with humor, and with broad fun. One 
number is declared to be " calculated to the 
meridian of all honest merry hearts ; and writ 
in their language ; and fitted to all latitudes in 
the temperate zone, where people are neither 
hot with passion nor cold with envy, and where 
the Pole is elevated ninety degrees above scan- 
dal and detraction." Another is suited " to all 
latitudes and capacities whatsoever, but more 



102 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

especially those that have got sixpence to spare 
to buy an almanac." A third bears the title, 
" Poor Robin. A prognostication for the year 
of our Lord God 1725, wherein you have a 
scheme (not for a Lottery, nor the South Sea) 
but for the use of Astrologers, with an account 
of the eclipses, and a great many more than 
any other almanac mentions, with predictions 
about courtings, weddings, &c., the like not 
extant." 

The account of the eclipses which no other 
almanac mentions might have been written by 
Poor Richard himself. Indeed it is closely 
paralleled in his prognostication for 1739. 

With a few hints borrowed from these two 
sources, Franklin began the publication of 
" Poor Richard " in October, 1732. The suc- 
cess was immense. Before the month ended 
the first impression was exhausted. When the 
year closed, the third edition was offered for 
sale. Not a little of this popularity is, we be- 
lieve, to be ascribed to the air of reality that 
pervades the whole book. To those who read 
" Poor Robin " then, as to those who read 
him now, he was a mere name, a mask to hide 
another name. Poor Richard was a person, 
almost as real to those who read him as King 
George or Governor Penn, or any of the famous 
men of whom they were constantly hearing but 



MR. SAUNDERS. 103 

never meeting face to face. It is high praise, 
but not too high praise, to say, that Mr. Rich- 
ard Saunders and Bridget his wife are quite as 
real as any characters in the whole domain of 
fiction. 

Indeed the prefaces to the almanacs in which 
they appear form, collectively, a piece of prose 
fiction which for humor, for sprightliness, for 
the knowledge of human nature displayed, is 
well worthy of perusal. In the first of the 
prefaces Mr. Saunders set forth the reasons for 
adding one more to the long list of almanac- 
makers. He might, he declares, assert the sole 
aim he had in view was the public good. But 
men are not to be deceived by such pretenses, 
and the plain truth is, he is excessive poor, 
while his wife, poor woman, is excessive proud. 
She could no longer bear to sit spinning in her 
shift of tow, while he did nothing but gaze at 
the stars. More than once had she threatened 
to burn his books and rattling- traps if he did 
not make some use of them for the good of his 
family. At last he had complied with his 
dame's desire and given to the world an alma- 
nac, a thing he would have done long before 
had he not been fearful of doing harm to his 
old friend and fellow-student Titan Leeds. But 
this fear troubled him no longer, for Titan 
was soon to be numbered with the immortals. 



104 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

Death, never known to respect merit, had al- 
ready prepared the mortal dart ; the fatal sister 
had already extended her destroying shears, 
and that ingenious man must surely perish on 
October 17, 1733, at the very moment of the 6 
of O and $. Since, therefore, the provinces 
were to see no more of Leeds's performances, 
he felt free to take up the task. 

Twenty-seven years before, Jacob Taylor, a 
rival philomath, described the father of Titan 
as " that unparalleled Plagiary and unreason- 
able transcriber, D. Leeds, who hath, with a very 
large stock of impudence, filched matter out of 
another man's works to furnish his spurious al- 
manacs." The description is applicable to the 
whole race of philomaths, but applies with es- 
pecial force to the Leeds, father and sons. But 
Titan was the fool positive, and as fair a butt 
for wit as the province produced. What a jest 
was he never knew. So he took the pleasantry 
of Poor Richard for sober earnest, and replied. 
He denounced Poor Richard as an ignorant 
and presumptuous predicter, called him a liar, 
a fool, a conceited scribbler, and declared that, 
by God's blessing. Titan Leeds should live and 
write long after Poor Richard Saunders and 
his almanac were dead and forgotten. 

This reply was precisely what Franklin 
expected, and in the preface to Poor Richard 



PREFACES TO POOR RICHARD. 105 

for 1734 tlie public is assured that, thanks to 
its bounty, '' Poor Dick " is far from dying. 
Now Bridget not only had a pot of her own, 
with something to put in it, but two new shifts, 
a pair of shoes and a new warm petticoat, 
while Richard, dressed in a good second-hand 
coat, was no longer ashamed to show himself iu 
town. As for Titan Leeds, he did die at the 
very hour and minute predicted. This was 
evident because of the harsh language of his 
pretended preface, for Mr. Leeds was too civil 
a man to use an old friend so shamefully : 
because the stars had predicted his death and 
they were not to be disappointed ; because it 
was necessary that he should die punctually at 
the hour named for the honor of astrology, an 
art professed by him and by his father before 
him ; and because the almanacs were too bad 
to be the work of Titan Leeds if living. The 
wit was low and flat. The little hints were 
dull. There was nothing smart in the almanac 
but Hudibras verses against astrology, which 
no astrologer but a dead one would ever have 
inserted. As for the rest, no man living could 
or would have written such stuff. Again Leeds 
took the fun in earnest and replied. " Poor 
Richard " had used him with such good man- 
ners that he hardly knew what to say. But 
this he would say of Mr. Saunders's boasted 



106 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, 

prosperity : " If Falsehood and Ingenuity be so 
rewarded, wliat may he expect if he be in a 
capacity to publish what is either just or ac- 
cording to Art." 

Thus dismissed, Leeds disappears from the 
almanacs for five years, and the prefaces are 
taken up with other matters. One is given to 
insisting that "Poor Richard" does exist, for 
the public have begun to suspect that he is 
none other than Franklin. Another is a de- 
fense of almanac-makers. That some of their 
predictions failed was not amazing. Without 
any defect in the art itself, it was easy to see 
that a small error, a single wrong figure over- 
seen in a long calculation, might cause great 
mistakes. But, however almanac-makers might 
miss it in other things, it must be allowed they 
always hit the day of the month, and that after 
all was one of the most useful things in an 
almanac. As to the weather, he never followed 
the method of his brother John Jerman. Jer- 
man would say, " Snow here or in New Eng- 
land," " Rain here or in South Carolina," 
"Cold to the Northward," "Warm to the 
Southward." This enabled him to hide his 
errors. For if it did not rain here, who could 
say it did not rain in New England. Poor 
Richard always put down just what the weather 
will be where the reader is, only asking for an 



PREFACES TO POOR RICHARD. 107 

allowance of a day or two before and a day or 
two after. If the prediction failed then, why 
like enough the printer had transferred or mis- 
placed it to make room for his holidays. As 
the public would give Mr. Printer credit for 
making the almanacs, let him also take some of 
the blame. 

A third explains how astrologers determine 
what the weather will be, and is just witty 
enough and coarse enough to have been thought 
good reading. 

A fourth was from the hand of Bridget 
Saunders. Her good man had set out for the 
Potomac to meet an old Stargazer. Before 
going he left a copy of his almanac sealed up 
and bade her send it to the printer. Suspect- 
ing something was wrong, she opened it to see 
if he had not been flinging some of his old 
skits at her. So it was. Peascods ! could she 
not have a little fault but the world must be 
told of it ? They had already been told that 
she was proud ; that she was poor ; that she 
had a new petticoat, and abundance more of 
the like stuff. Now they must know she had 
taken a fancy to drink a little tea. She had cut 
this nonsense out. Looking over the months, 
she found a great quantity of foul weather. 
She had cut this out also, and put in fine 
weather for housewives to dry their clothes in. 



108 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, 

Yet another preface is written by the ghost 
of his old friend Titan Leeds. 

Leeds by this time was really dead, and that 
the world might know the letter to be the work 
of his ghost, the ghost made three predictions 
for the coming year. A certain well-known 
character would remain sober for nine consecu- 
tive hours, to the great astonishment of his 
friends ; William and Andrew Bradford would 
put out another "Leeds' Almanac" just as if 
Leeds were still alive ; and that John Jerman 
on the 17th of September would become recon- 
ciled to the Church of Rome. On the fulfil- 
ment of these predictions rested the truth of 
the ghost. 

Jerman for twenty years past had been the 
author of a Quaker almanac, and had for about 
the same time been engaged in a fierce almanac 
warfare with Jacob Taylor, a philomath and a 
printer of Friends' books. Jerman seems to 
have been as thick-headed as Leeds, took the 
same course as Leeds, repelled the charge, and 
the next year boasted that he had not gone 
over to Rome, and denounced Poor Richard as 
one of the false prophets of Baal. He could 
have done nothing more to Poor Richard's 
mind ; and in the preface to " Poor Richard " 
for 1742 the whole town read with delight the 
evidence of Jerman's conversion, which, despite 



PREFACES TO POOR RICHARD, 109 

his declaring and protesting, " is, I fear," said 
Mr. Saunders, " too true." Two things in the 
elegiac verses confirmed this suspicion. The 
1st of November was called All-Hallows Day. 
Did not this smell of Popery ? Did it in the 
least savor of the plain language of Friends? 
But the plainest evidence of all was the adora- 
tion of saints which Jerman confessed to be his 
practice in the lines — 

" When any trouble did me befall 
To my dear Mary then I would call." 

" Did he think the whole world was so stupid 
as not to notice this ? So ignorant as not to 
know that all Catholics paid the highest regard 
to the Virgin Mary ? Ah, friend John, we must 
allow you to be a poet, but you certainly are 
no Protestant. I could heartily wish your reli- 
gion were as good as your verses." 

With this the humorous prefaces cease, and 
their place is taken by short pieces, which, as 
Poor Kichard said, were likely to do more good 
than three hundred and seventy-five prefaces 
written by himself. These pieces were com- 
monly borrowed from standard works, and con- 
tain hints for growing timber, for fencing, and 
accounts of how people live on the shores of 
Hudson Bay and under the Tropic of Cancer. 

The humor of the almanacs is by no means 
confined to the prefaces. The books abound 



110 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

in wit and in wit noticeable for its modern 
character. Now it appears in some doggerel 
verses at tlie heads of the pages ; now in the 
turn given to a maxim, as, " Never take a wife 
till you have a house (and a fire) to put her 
in ; " now in some pretended prognostication, 
as that for August, 1739, " Ships sailing down 
the Delaware Bay this month shall hear at ten 
leagues' distance a confused rattling noise like 
a swarm of hail on a cake of ice. Don't be 
frightened, good passengers, the sailors can in- 
form you that 'tis nothing but Lower County 
teeth in the ague. In a southerly wind you 
may hear it at Philadelphia." 

In 1748 the size of the almanac was much 
enlarged, and the name changed to " Poor 
Richa,rd Improved." After 1748 it is quite 
likely " Poor Richard '' was no longer written 
by Franklin. While still in his hands, Frank- 
lin contributed to its pages some of the brief 
pieces by which he is best known. Scattered 
among profitable observations, eclipses, and 
monthly calendars are to be found his " Hints 
for those that would be Rich," his " Rules of 
Health," his " Plan for saving one hundred 
thousand pounds to New Jersey," and his mas- 
terpiece, " Father Abraham's Address." 

In the first number of "Poor Richard," 
Franklin adopted the custom, long common 



MAXIMS OF POOR EI CHARD. Ill 

among "philomaths," of filling the spaces be- 
tween the remarkable days in the monthly cal- 
endars with maxims of thrift, saws, and pithy 
sayings, the purpose of which has been stated 
by Franklin himself. " Observing that it 
[" Poor Richard "] was generally read, scarce 
any neighborhood in the province being with- 
out it, I considered it as a proper vehicle for 
conveying instruction among the common peo- 
ple who bought scarcely any other book. I 
therefore filled all the little spaces that oc- 
curred between the ren^arkable days in the cal- 
endar with proverbial sentences, chiefly such as 
inculcated industry and frugality, as the means 
of procuring wealth and thereby securing vir- 
tue ; it being more difficult for a man in want 
to act always honestly, as, to use here one of 
those proverbs, ' It is hard for an empty sack 
to stand upright.' " 

But the difference between such sayings as 
set forth by Poor Richard, and such sayings as 
set forth by Jerman or Leeds, is often just the 
difference between sense and nonsense, meaning 
and jibberish. It is hardly possible to read a 
page of Leeds without being told that " There 's 
knavery in the wind ; " that " The cat ate the 
candle ; " that " Cully, Mully, Puff appears ; " 
and that " The World is bad with somebody." 
Of this sort of folly Mr. Saunders was never 



112 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

guilty. And even when Leeds did drop into 
sense and meaning, what he says can always 
be found better said by Poor Richard. " Ne- 
cessity," says Leeds, "is a mighty weapon." 
"Necessity," says Poor Richard, "never made 
a good bargain." " Be careful of the main 
chance," says Leeds, " or it will never take 
care of you ; " " Keep thy shop," says Poor 
Dick, " and thy shop will keep thee." " 'T is 
best," says Leeds, " to make a good use of an- 
other's folly." " Fools," says Poor Richard, 
" make feasts, and wise men eat them." " Bad 
hours and ill company have ruined many fine 
young people," says Leeds. Put into the lan- 
guage of Poor Richard this becomes, " The 
rotten apple spoils his companion." 

For wisdom of this kind Franklin claimed 
neither reading nor invention. Much he took 
bodily from Poor Robin and Gadbury, who in 
turn took them from Ray.^ Much more he 

1 Ray's book, called A Collection of English Proverbs, was 
printed at Cambridge, 1678. A few proverbs will serve as 
examples. 

EAY. POOR RICHARD. 

God healeth and the physi- God heals and the doctor 
cian hath the thanks. takes the fee. 

Marry your sons when you Marry your sons when you 
will ; your daughters when will ; but your daughters when 
you can. you can. 

God sends meat and the Bad commentation spoils 
devil cooks. the best of books : 

So God sends meat (they 
say) the devil cooks. 



MAXIMS OF POOR RICHARD. 113 

borrowed from humbler writers and dressed in 
his own words. But wherever it came from, 
there can be no doubt that it had much to do 
with the immense popularity of the almanac. 
Mr. Saunders became a personage as well 
known in that age as Josh Billings and Mrs. 
Partington in ours. He became a type, and 
more than one piece of wisdom he never was 
guilty of writing owed its currency to the 
words " As Poor Richard says." His sayings 
passed into the daily speech of the people, were 
quoted in sermons, were printed on the title- 
pages of pamphlets and used as mottoes by 
the newspaper moralists of the day, and con- 
tinued down even to the Revolution to be read 
with avidity. Then, in an hour of great need, 
a copy of one of the almanacs fell into the 
hands of Paul Jones of glorious memory. The 
story is told, that, after his famous victory in 
" The Ranger," he went to Brest to await the 
coming of the new ship so often promised him ; 
that month after month he was tormented by 
excuses and delays ; that he wrote to Franklin, 
to the royal family, to the King, begging that 
a vessel might be given him ; that, wellnigh 
distracted, he happened to pick up a copy of 
" Poor Richard," and read, " If you would have 

See a note by Dr. S. A. Green, in Hist. Magazine, Jan'y, 
1860, pp. 16, 17, 



114 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

your business done, go ; if not, send ; " that lie 
took the hint, hurried to Versailles, and there 
got an order for the purchase of the ship which 
he renamed, in honor of his teacher, " Bon 
Homme Richard." 

Nothing, perhaps, shows the fondness of the 
people for the sayings of Mr. Saunders better 
than the history of that famous piece in which 
the best of them are brought together. It 
came out in a day of darkness and of gloom. 
The French and Indian war had been raging 
for four years ; and success was still with the 
French. Washington had been driven from 
Fort Necessity. Braddock had perished in the 
woods. The venture against Niagara had failed. 
That against Ticonderoga had done little. 
The sea swarmed with French and Spanish 
privateers. Trade was dull. Taxes were heavy. 
Grumbling was everywhere. Men of all sorts 
bemoaned the hard times. The war ought <to 
stop. The assemblies, the grumblers said, ought 
to put out more credit bills. The mother coun- 
try ought to pay the cost of colonial troops. 
Were every one of these remedies used they 
could not, Franklin thought, cure the hard 
times. Economy and thrift alone could do so. 
Here then was a fine chance for a sermon by 
"Poor Richard " with a reasonable hope of be- 
ing heard. A sermon was accordingly written, 



FATHER ABRAHAM'S SPEECH. 115 

put in the mouth of a wise old man called Fa- 
ther Abraham, and published in the almanac 
for 1758. It was pretended that " Poor Rich- 
ard " had heard the speech at an auction. A 
fitter place Father Abraham could not have 
chosen ; for the auctions of those days were 
shameful scenes of extravagance and folly. 
Called thither by bell and crier, the people 
gathered long before the hour named, were plied 
with rum at the cost of the vendue master till, 
when the sale opened, they offered bids and 
paid prices such as never would have been had 
from them in their sober senses. To a throng 
of this sort Father Abraham spoke. What he 
said, with a few words by ''Poor Richard," is 
as follows : — 

I have heard, that nothing gives an author so great 
pleasure as to find his works respectfully quoted by 
other learned authors. This pleasure I have seldom 
enjoyed ; for, though I have been, if I may say it 
without vanity, an eminent author (of almanacs) 
annually, now, a full quarter of a century, my brother 
authors in the same way, for what reason I know 
not, have ever been very sparing in their applauses ; 
and no other author has taken the least notice of me ; 
so that, did not my writings produce me some solid 
pudding, the great deficiency of praise would have 
quite discouraged me. I concluded, at length, that 
the people were the best judges of my merit, for they 



116 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

buy my works ; and besides, in my rambles, where I 
am not personally known, I have frequently heard 
one or other of my adages repeated, with " As 
Poor Richard says," at the end on 't. This gave me 
some satisfaction, as it showed not only that my 
instructions were regarded, but discovered likewise 
some respect for my authority ; and I own, that, to 
encourage the practice of remembering and reading 
those wise sentences, I have sometimes quoted myself 
with great gravity. Judge, then, how much I must 
have been gratified by an incident I am going to 
relate to you. I stopped my horse lately, where a 
great number of people were collected at an auction 
of merchants' goods. The hour of the sale not being 
come, they were conversing on the badness of the 
times; and one of the company called to a plain, 
clean, old man, with white locks, " Pray, Father 
Abraham, what think you of the times ? will not 
these heavy taxes quite ruin the country ; how shall 
we ever be able to pay them ? What would you 
advise us to do ? " Father Abraham stood up, and 
replied, " If you would have my advice, I will give 
it to you in short ; for, A word to the wise is enough, 
as Poor Richard says." They joined in desiring him 
to speak his mind, and gathering around him, he pro- 
ceeded as follows : — 

" Friends," said he, " the taxes are indeed very 
heavy, and, if those laid on by the government were 
the only ones we had to pay, we might more easily 
discharge them ; but we have many others, and much 
more grievous to some of us. We are taxed twice 



FATHER ABRAHAM'S SFEECH. 117 

as much by our idleness, three times as much by our 
pride, and four times as much by our folly ; and from 
these taxes the commissioners can not ease or deliver 
us, by allowing an abatement. However, let us 
hearken to good advice, and something may be done 
for us ; God helps them that help themselves, as 
Poor Richard says. 

"I. It would be thought a hard government that 
should task its people one tenth part of their time, 
to be employed in its service ; but idleness taxes 
many of us much more ; sloth, by bringing on 
diseases, absolutely shortens life. Sloth, like rust, 
consumes faster than labor wears ; while the used 
key is always bright, as Poor Richard says. But 
dost thou love life, then do not squander time, for 
that is the stuff life is made of, as Poor Richard 
says. How much more than is necessary do we 
spend in sleep, forgetting that The sleeping fox 
catches no poultry, and that There will be sleeping 
enough in the grave, as Poor Richard says. 

" If time be of all things the most precious, wast- 
ing time must be, as Poor Richard says, the greatest 
prodigality ; since, as he elsewhere tells us. Lost time 
is never found again ; and what we call time enough 
always proves little enough. Let us then be up and 
be doing, and doing to the purpose ; so by diligence 
shall we do more with less perplexity. Sloth makes 
all things different, but industry, all easy ; and He 
that riseth late must trot all day, and shall scarce over- 
take his business at night ; while Laziness travels so 
slowly that Poverty soon overtakes him. Drive thy 



118 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

business, let not that drive thee ; and Early to bed, 
and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and 
wise, as Poor Richard says. 

" So what signifies wishing and hoping for better 
times ? We make these times better, if we bestir 
ourselves. Industry need not wish, and he that lives 
upon hopes will die fasting. There are no gains 
without pains ; then help, hands, for I have no lands ; 
or, if I have, they are smartly taxed. He that hath 
a trade, hath an estate ; and he that hath a calling, 
hath an office of profit and honor, as Poor Richard 
says ; but then the trade must be worked at, and the 
calling followed, or neither the estate nor the office 
will enable us to pay our taxes. If we are industrious, 
we shall never starve ; for. At the workingman's 
house hunger looks in, but dares not enter. Nor will 
the bailiff or the constable enter ; for. Industry pays 
debts, while despair increaseth them. What though 
you have found no treasure, nor has any rich rela- 
tion left you a legacy ; Diligence is the mother of 
good luck, and God gives all things to Industry. 
Then plow deep while sluggards sleep, and you shall 
have corn to sell and to keep. Work while it is 
called to-day, for you know not how much you may 
be hindered to-morrow. One to-day is worth two to- 
morrows, as Poor Richard says ; and further, Never 
leave that till to-morrow which you can do to-day. 
If you were a servant, would you not be ashamed 
that a good master should catch you idle ? Are you 
then your own master ? Be ashamed to catch your- 
self idle, when there is so much to be done for your- 



FATHER ABRAHAM'S SPEECH. 119 

self, your family, your country, your king. Handle 
your tools without mittens; remember that The cat in 
gloves catches no mice, as Poor Richard says. It is 
true there is much to be done, and perhaps you are 
weak-handed ; but stick to it steadily, and you will 
see great effects ; for, Constant dropping wears away 
stones ; and By diligence and patience the mouse 
ate in two the cable ; and Little strokes fell great 
oaks. 

" Methinks I hear some of you say, Must a man 
afford himself no leisure ? I will tell thee, my friend, 
what Poor Richard says : Employ thy time well, if 
thou meanest to gain leisure ; and since thou art not 
sure of a minute, throw not away an hour. Leisure is 
time for doing something useful ; this leisure the dili- 
gent man will obtain, but the lazy man never ; for, A 
life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things. 
Many, without labor, would live by their wits only, 
but they break for want of stock ; whereas, industry 
gives comfort, and plenty, and respect. Fly pleas- 
ures and they will follow you. The diligent spinner 
has a large shift ; and now I have a sheep and a cow, 
every one bids me good-morrow. 

" II. But with our industry we must likewise be 
steady and careful, and oversee our own affairs with 
our own eyes, and not trust too much to others ; for, 
as poor Richard says, — 

I never saw an oft-removed tree, 

Nor yet an oft-removed family, 

That throve so w^ell as those that settled be. 

And again, Three removes are as bad as a fire ; and 



120 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

again, Keep thy shop, and thy shop will keep thee ; 
and again, If you would have your business done, go ; 
if not, send. And again, — 

He that by the plough would thrive, 
Himself must either hold or drive. 

And again, The eye of the master will do more work 
than both his hands ; and again, Want of care does 
us more damage than want of knowledge ; and again, 
Not to oversee workmen, is to leave them your purse 
open. Trusting too much to others' care is the ruin 
of many ; for. In the affairs of this world men are 
saved, not by faith but by the want of it; but a 
man's own care is profitable ; for, If you would have 
a faithful servant, and one that you like, serve your- 
self. A little neglect may breed great mischief; 
for want of a nail the shoe was lost ; for want of a 
shoe the horse was lost ; and for want of a horse 
the rider was lost, being overtalien and slain by the 
enemy ; all for want of a little care about a horse- 
shoe nail. 

" III. So much for industry, my friends, and at- 
tention to one's own business ; but to these we must 
add frugality, if we would make our industry more 
certainly successful. A man may, if he knows not 
how to save as he gets, keep his nose all his life to 
the grindstone, and die not worth a groat at last. A 
fat kitchen makes a lean will ; and — 

Many estates are spent in the getting, 
Since women forsook spinning and knitting, 
And men for punch forsook hewing and splitting. 

If you would be wealthy, think of saving as well as 



FATHER ABRAHAM'S SPEECH. 121 

of getting. The Indies have not made Spain rich, 
because her outgoes are greater than her incomes. 

" Away then with your expensive follies, and you 
will not then have so much cause to complain of hard 
times, heavy taxes, and chargeable families ; for — 
Women and wine, game and deceit, 
Make the wealth small and the want great. 

And further. What maintains one vice would bring 
up two children. You may think, perhaps, that a 
little tea or a little punch now and then, diet a little 
more costly, clothes a little finer, and a little enter- 
tainment now and then, can be no great matter ; but 
remember. Many a little makes a mickle. Beware 
of little expenses ; A small leak will sink a great 
ship, as Poor Richard says ; and again, Who dainties 
love shall beggars prove ; and moreover. Fools make 
feasts and wise men eat them. 

" Here you are all got together at this sale of fin- 
eries and knick-knacks. You call them goods ; but, 
if you do not take care, they will prove evils to some 
of you. You expect they will be sold cheap, and 
perhaps they may for less than they cost ; but, if you 
have no occasion for them, they must be dear to you. 
Remember what Poor Richard says : Buy what thou 
hast no need of, and ere long thou shalt sell thy ne- 
cessaries. And again, At a great pennyworth pause 
a while. He means, that perhaps the cheapness is 
apparent only, and not real ; or, the bargain, by 
straitening thee in thy business, may do thee more 
harm than good. For in another place he says, 
Many have been ruined by buying good pennyworths. 



122 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

Again, It is foolish to lay out money in a purchase 
of repentance ; and yet, this folly is practised every 
day at auctions, for want of minding the Almanac. 
Many a one, for the sake of finery on the back, have 
gone with a hungry belly and half-starved their fam- 
ilies. Silks and satins, scarlet and velvets, put out 
the kitchen fire, as Poor Eichard says. 

" These are not the necessaries of life ; they can 
scarcely be called the conveniences ; and yet, only 
because they look pretty, how many want to have 
them. By these, and other extravagances, the gen- 
teel are reduced to poverty, and forced to borrow of 
those whom they formerly despised, but who, through 
industry and frugality, have maintained their stand- 
ing ; in which case it appears plainly, that A plow- 
man on his legs is higher than a gentleman on his 
knees, as Poor Richard says. Perhaps they have a 
small estate left them which they knew not the get- 
ting of ; they think. It is day and it never will be 
night ; that a little to be spent out of so much is not 
worth minding ; but Always taking out of the meal- 
tub, and never putting in, soon comes to the bottom, 
as Poor Richard says ; and then. When the well is 
dry, they know the worth of water. But this they 
might have known before, if they had taken his ad- 
vice. If you would know the value of money, go and 
try to borrow some ; for He that goes a-borrowing 
goes a-sorrowing, as Poor Richard says ; and, indeed, 
so does he that lends to such people, when he goes to 
get it in again. Poor Dick further advises, and 
says, — 



FATHER ABRAHAM'S SPEECH. 123 

Fond pride of dress is sure a very curse; 
Ere fancy you consult, consult your purse. 

And again, Pride is as loud a beggar as Want, and 
a great deal more saucy. When you have bought 
one fine thing, you must buy ten more, that your ap- 
pearance may be all of a piece ; but Poor Dick 
says. It is easier to suppress the first desire, than to 
satisfy all that follow it. And it is as truly folly for 
the poor to ape the rich, as for the frog to swell in 
order to equal the ox. 

Vessels large may venture more, 

But little boats should keep near shore. 

It is, however, a folly soon punished ; for, as Poor 
Richard says, Pride that dines on vanity, sups on con- 
tempt. Pride breakfasted with Plenty, dined with 
Poverty, and supped with Infamy. And, after all, of 
what use is this pride of appearance, for which so 
much is risked, so much is suffered ? It cannot pro- 
mote health, nor ease pain ; it makes no increase of 
merit in the person ; it creates envy ; it hastens 
misfortune. 

" But what madness must it be to run in debt for 
these superfluities ? We are offered by the terms of 
this sale, six months credit ; and that, perhaps, has 
induced some of us to attend it, because we cannot 
spare the ready money, and hope now to be fine with- 
out it. But, ah ! think what you do when you run 
in debt ; you give to another power over your liberty. 
If you cannot pay at the time, you will be ashamed 
to see your creditor ; you will be in fear when you 
speak to him ; you will make poor, pitiful, sneaking 



124 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

excuses, and, by degrees, come to lose your verac- 
ity, and sink into base, downright lying; for The 
second vice is lying, the first is running in debt, as 
Poor Richard says ; and again, to the same purpose, 
Lying rides upon Debt's back ; whereas, a free-born 
Englishman ought not to be ashamed nor afraid to see 
or speak to any man living. But poverty often de- 
prives a man of all spirit and virtue. It is hard for 
an empty bag to stand upright. 

*' What would you think of that prince, or of that 
government, who should issue an edict forbidding you 
to dress like a gentleman or gentlewoman, on pain of 
imprisonment or servitude ? Would you not say that 
you were free, have a right to dress as you please, 
and that such an edict would be a breach of your 
privileges, and such a government tyrannical ? And 
yet you are about to put yourself under such tyranny, 
when you run in debt for such dress. Your creditor 
has authority, at his pleasure, to deprive you of your 
liberty, by confining you in gaol till you shall be able 
to pay him. When you have got your bargain, you 
may, perhaps, think little of payment ; but, as Poor 
Richard says, creditors have better memories than 
debtors ; creditors are a superstitious sect, great ob- 
servers of set days and times. The day comes round 
before you are aware, and the demand is made before 
you are prepared to satisfy it ; or, if you bear your 
debt in mind, the term, which at first seemed so long, 
will, as it lessens, appear extremely short. Time 
will seem to have added wings to his heels as well as 
his shoulders. Those have a short Lent, who owe 



FATHER ABRAHAM'S SPEECH. 126 

money to be paid at Easter. At present, perhaps, 
you may think yourselves in thriving circumstances, 
and that you can bear a little extravagance without 
injury ; but — 

For age and want save while you may ; 
No morning sun lasts a whole day. 

Gain may be temporary and uncertain, but ever, ^ 
while you live, expense is constant and certain ; and 
It is easier to build two chimneys, than to keep one 
in fuel, as Poor Richard says ; so, Rather go to bed 
supperless, than rise in debt. 

Get what you can, and what you get hold ; 

'T is the stone that will turn all your lead into gold. 

And when you have got the Philosopher's stone, 
sure you will no longer complain of bad times, or the 
difficulty of paying taxes. 

" IV. This doctrine, my friends, is reason and 
wisdom ; but, after all, do not depend too much upon 
your own industry, and frugality, and prudence, 
though excellent things ; for they may all be blasted, 
without the blessing of Heaven ; and, therefore, ask 
that blessing humbly, and be not uncharitable to 
those that at present seem to want it, but comfort 
and help them. Remember, Job suffered, and was 
afterwards prosperous. 

" And now, to conclude, Experience keeps a dear 
school, but fools will learn in no other, as Poor '\ 
Richard says, and scarce in that ; for, it is true, we 
may give advice, but we cannot give conduct. How- n 
ever, remember this : They that will not be counselled 



126 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, 

cannot be helped ; and further, that, If you will not 
hear Reason, she will surely rap your knuckles, as 
Poor Richard says." 

Thus the old gentleman ended his harangue. The 
people heard it, and approved the doctrine, and im- 
mediately practised the contrary, just as if it had been 
a common sermon ; for the auction opened, and they 
began to buy extravagantly. I found the good man 
had thoroughly studied my almanacs, and digested 
all I had dropped on these topics during the course 
of twenty-five years. The frequent mention he made 
of me must have tired any one else ; but my vanity 
was wonderfully delighted with it, though I was con- 
scious that not a tenth part of the wisdom was my 
own which he ascribed to me, but rather the glean- 
ings that I had made of the sense of all ages and 
nations. However, I resolved to be the better for the 
echo of it ; and, though I had at first determined to 
buy stuff for a new coat, I went away resolved to 
wear my old one a little longer. Reader, if thou 
wilt do the same, thy profit will be as great as mine. 
I am, as ever, thine to serve thee, 

Richard Saunders. 

The praise bestowed on Father Abraham, by 
those who heard him at the auction stand, was 
soon taken up by the civilized world. The 
sale of the almanac had always been large. 
Year after year ten thousand copies, or one for 
every hundred inhabitants of the land, came 
from the press. But ten thousand copies did 



POPULARITY OF FATHER ABRAHAM. 127 

not begin to meet the demand for " Poor 
Richard" of 1758. Such was the eagerness of 
the people to read the Address that the news- 
papers published it again and again. Franklin 
himself sent it forth as a broadside, and at last, 
in 1760, his nephew, Benjamin Mecom of Bos- 
ton, made it into a pamphlet, adorned with a 
huge folding plate of Father Abraham in his 
study. The title is, " Father Abraham's Speech 
to a great number of people, at a Vendue of 
Merchants' Goods ; introduced to the public by 
Poor Richard (a famous Pennsylvanian con- 
jurer and almanac-maker), in answer to the fol- 
io wing questions: 'Pray, Father Abraham, what 
do you think of the times ? Won't these heavy 
taxes quite ruin the country ? How shall we 
be ever able to pay them? What would you 
advise us to?'" 

In the Advertisement, without which no 
book was then thought complete, the reader is 
assured that "at the first appearance of this 
humorous and _ instructive production, several 
gentlemen of approved taste were struck with 
the design and beauty of it, and therefore 
desired to know the parents' name. Father 
Abraham's speech is the comely offspring of 
that Frank-lyn-cean genius who is the author 
of a pamphlet intitled ' The Interest of Great 
Britain Considered,' " a pamphlet Franklin did 



128 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

not write. Thus started by Mecom, the speech 
was quickly republished in the same form at 
New Haven, at New London, at Philadelphia. 

Franklin was then at London, and thither 
his work followed him ; was printed on a broad- 
side, was widely circulated, was hung up on the 
walls of workshops and houses; crossed the 
Channel ; was done into French, and bought in 
great quantity by priests and nobles for dis- 
tribution among the poor. Since that day it 
has spread over the whole of Europe, and may 
now be read in French, in German, in Spanish, 
in Italian, in Russian, in the language of Hol- 
land, in the language of Bohemia, in modern 
Greek, in Gaelic, and in Portuguese. Under 
the title " La Science du Bonhomme Richard," 
it has been thirty times printed in French, and 
twice in Italian. As " The Way to Wealth," 
it has been issued twenty-seven times in Eng- 
lish in pamphlet form, and innumerable times 
as a broadside. Never since 1770 has a period 
of five years been suffered to go by without a 
new edition of " The Way to Wealth " ap- 
pearing in some form in some language. 
Printers have used it to advertise their business. 
Short-hand writers have issued it in phonetic 
characters. It may be found in the publications 
of societies for improving the condition of the 
poor ; in " Prompters ; " in " Immortal Men- 



POPULARITY OF FATHER ABRAHAM, 129 

tors ; " in " Moral Tracts ; " in " First Notions 
of Political Economy;" in "Elements of Mor- 
als ; " in " Whole Duties of Men and Women," 
and as a rebus for the amusement of the idle. 
Without question, the speech of Father Abra- 
ham is the most famous piece of literature the 
colonies produced. After 1758 Franklin wrote 
no more for " Poor Richard." In 1796 the 
almanac ceased to appear. 

In 1740 Franklin embarked in a literary 
venture of which no mention is made in the 
Autobiography. That he should remember so 
much that was passing and trivial, and forget 
this, is strange indeed. The newspaper quar- 
rel with which it opened, and the flat failure 
in which it closed, might well have served to 
keep it in mind. But it did not. 

The venture was a magazine. No such pub- 
lication had then appeared in the English 
colonies ; but the time for one was now come, 
he thought, and, thinking so, he began to look 
about him for some one to act as editor. The 
person chosen was John Webbe, a conveyancer 
and a dull pedant, now remembered by gather- 
ers of rare old books as the author of a pam- 
phlet entitled " A Discourse Concerning Paper 
Money." To him the plan was fully unfolded, 
the terms of publication settled, and a bargain 
made, when, in the "Mercury" of October 



130 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

30, 1740, Webbe announced a magazine of 
his own. His prospectus filled just one half 
of the newspaper, and would in our times be 
enough to kill a magazine outright. The en- 
couragement given to magazines in England 
was his excuse for attempting one in America. 
But he would by no means follow the British 
models. He had a plan of his own, and his 
plan was this: In his magazine should be 
found speeches of governors ; addresses of as- 
semblies ; extracts of laws, with the reasons on 
which they were founded and* the ills they were 
to remove ; accounts of the climate, soil, produc- 
tions, trades and manufactures of the British 
colonies; of trials, of the course of exchange, 
of the fluctuation of paper money; but no 
scandal, no falsehood, no defamatory libeling. 
Then followed a long, dreary, and pedantic 
essay on the horridness of defamation, on the 
law of libel, on the liberty of the press, and 
the duty of obedience to rulers, mingled with 
scraps from Euripides and Horace. In a 
" postscript " he announced that the magazine 
should issue monthly, should contain four 
sheets, should cost twelve shillings Pennsyl- 
vania money a year, and should be printed by 
Andrew Bradford. 

In the next issue of the " Gazette " was 
Franklin's plan for a magazine. The name 



THE GENERAL MAGAZINE. 131 

was to be " The General Magazine and Histori- 
cal Chronicle for all the British Plantations in 
America." The price to the public was to be 
ninepence Pennsylvania money, but chapmen 
were to have it for less. No subscriptions were 
to be taken. This, he stated, had two advan- 
tages : Readers need only buy such numbers as 
pleased them, while the printer would be forced 
to exert himself to find such pieces as would 
please them. The idea of such a magazine 
had long been in his mind. Indeed, he had 
chosen his writers and bought his small type. 
Yet he would not have begun publication so 
soon had not a person to whom he told this plan 
in confidence, betrayed him, and published it in 
the last " Mercury." This was to discourage 
him from going on. But he would go on, and 
seek, by care, by diligence, by impartiality, by 
turning out a well-printed pamphlet, to have at 
least a share of public favor. 

Webbe now grew angry, and wrote so long 
a reply that it filled all the spare columns of 
three numbers of the " Mercury." He called 
his reply " The Detection," and, after a great 
deal of just such stuff as angry men are always 
writing, began to answer the charges. Mr. 
Franklin did, indeed, mention his desire to 
print a magazine, and asked him to compose it. 
But did such a request compel him to write one 



132 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

for Mr. Franklin to print ? Did it prevent him 
from publishing at Mr. Bradford's press without 
Mr. Franklin's leave ? If so, then Mr. Frank- 
lin had but to offer himself as printer of books 
and pamphlets to every man he thought able 
to write them, and they would thenceforth be 
restrained from printing anything without his 
consent. As to a plan, Mr. Franklin never 
made a plan. Just what he did do was jotted 
down in his own handwi^iting, and was this : — 

" Magazine to consist of 3 sheets, 1000 to 
be printed at first. Price 15s. a year, or 15c?. 
apiece single, 12s. a Doz. to those that sell 
again. 

" B. F. to be at all Expense of Paper, Print- 
ing, Correspondence, for procuring Materials, 
&c., vending, keeping accounts, &c. J. W. to 
dispose the Materials, make Abstracts, and 
write what shall be necessary for promoting the 
Thing, &c. The Money received to be divided 
thus: . . . B. F.jfor and towards defraying the 
Expense above mentioned, to take first one half, 
the Remainder to be equally divided between 
him and J. W. Bad debts, if any, to be divided 
in the same manner. 

" To agree for a Term of 7 years. The above 
Agreement to be for all under 2000 ; all above 
2000 sold, the money to be equally divided ; 
B. F. to be at all Expense." 



THE RIVAL MAGAZINES. 133 

When these proposals were delivered to 
Webbe, Franklin declared that he was entitled 
to half the profits, beside his gain as a printer, 
for two reasons. In the first place, he had a 
font of small letter such as no other printer 
in America had ; in the second place, he was 
postmaster, and that gave him power to circu- 
late his magazine to the exclusion of any rival. 
Believing all this, Webbe readily agreed. But 
before the contract was engrossed and ready 
for signing, he grew wiser. The reasons for 
claiming so great a share of the profits he 
learned were groundless and ridiculous, and, 
fearing grosser frauds behind, he carried his 
plan to Bradford. If Bradford gave him bet- 
ter terms, it was not because he loved Webbe, 
but because he hated Franklin. 

The second installment of " The Detection " 
is given to sneering at Franklin's plan, to justi- 
fying Webbe's plan, but at the same time assur- 
ing the public that the proposed magazine will 
not appear. In the third number of '-'• The 
Detection," Webbe flatly accused Franklin of 
using his place of postmaster to shut the "Mer- 
cury " out of the post, and of refusing to let 
the riders carry it with the " Gazette." Up to 
this point in the squabble Franklin had made 
no reply. He now dropped the advertisement 
of the magazine, and in its place put a letter. 



134 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

It was true that none of Bradford's " Mercu- 
ries " were carried by the riders. Colonel 
Spotswood, the postmaster-general, had peremp- 
torily forbidden it ; and he had forbidden it 
because Mr. Bradford had persistently refused 
to settle his accounts as late postmaster at 
Philadelphia. 

The dispute had now become so hot that 
Bradford issued a postscript to the '' Mercury," 
in which Webbe made a rambling reply. It 
was true that, after the orders of Colonel Spots- 
wood, no more " Mercuries " had been sent to 
the post-office to be forwarded in the mail ; 
but they had been sent to the riders, and had, 
with the conniyance of Franklin, been distri- 
buted by them. Now, upon a sudden, this was 
stopped, and it was stopped because of the let- 
ters which the " Mercury " contained. This 
charge undoubtedly was true. 

With this the quarrel ended, and no more 
was heard of the magazines till the close of 
January, 1740-1741. Then, to the surprise of 
the town, Bradford announced that he had in 
press and would soon publish '' The American 
Magazine, or A Monthly View of the Political 
State of the British Colonies." True to his 
word, the magazine was on his counter on the 
13th of February, 1740-1741. Three days later 
Franklin issued "The General Magazine and 



THE RIVAL MAGAZINES. 135 

Historical Chronicle for all the British Prov- 
inces in America." " The American Maga- 
zine " lived three months, and was ridiculed 
by Franklin in doggerel verse. '' The General 
Magazine " struggled on for six months, and 
then quietly expired. It was printed on the 
small type of which Franklin had boasted to 
Webbe. The title-page was adorned with the 
Prince of Wales' coronet and plumes. The 
contents were historical, political, religious. 
There were speeches of governors, replies of 
assemblies, pieces of poetry, extracts from 
books, long theological disputes, and a man- 
ual of arms. But neither the contents, nor the 
fine type, nor the place of postmaster, could 
make it popular. It perished miserably, was 
utterly forgotten by its founder, and is of no 
interest now save that, with the "American 
Magazine" of Bradford, it forms the first 
attempt to set up the monthly magazine in 
America. 



CHAPTER V. 

1743-1756. 

The failure of the magazine did not dis- 
hearten him, and he was soon casting about 
for something else to set agoing. He found it 
in the " Academy and Charitable School of the 
Province of Pennsylvania." There was in al- 
most every large town in the province a school 
of some sort where the rudiments of education 
were taught. But nowhere did an academy, 
or anything approaching to a college, exist. 
That none existed was, to Franklin, a good and 
sufficient reason why he should seek to found 
one. It was not long,' therefore, before he had 
a plan drawn and a rector chosen. The rector 
was to be the Reverend Richard Peters. But 
Mr. Peters had a better-paying place in view, 
would not think of such a position ; and Frank- 
lin, knowing of no other fit for the trust, laid 
his scheme aside for six years. 

Hard upon the abandonment of the plan for 
an academy came his " Proposal for Promoting 
Useful Knowledge among the British Planta- 



FOUNDS A SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 137 

tions in America." The paper is dated May 
14, 1743, goes over the difficulties scientific men 
found in communicating their discoveries to 
each other, and suggests as a remedy the found- 
ing of the " American Philosophical Society " 
at Philadelphia. This was done. But beyond 
this fact and the roll of membership, nothing 
concerning it is known. The records are gone. 
The transactions are lost, and if any papers 
were communicated by the members, they too 
are wanting. Franklin did, indeed, propose to 
publish an American Philosophical Miscellany, 
to issue the first number in January, 1746, and 
to put in it selections from the papers written 
by the gentlemen of the society. But when 
1746 came Franklin was deep in electrical re- 
searches, from which in 1747 he was suddenly 
turned aside by a series of events it is now 
necessary to narrate. 

In 1739 trouble broke out between England 
and Spain as to the right to gather salt at Tor- 
tugas and cut logwood at Campeachy. As the 
next ship from London might bring news of 
open war, the governor begged the assembly 
to put the province in a state of defense. He 
reminded them in strong terms of the terrors of 
war, of sacked cities, of ravaged fields, of the 
slaughter of the young and feeble by merciless 
and pitiless invaders. But his eloquence could 



138 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, 

not move them and they adjourned. On re- 
assembling, the governor again appealed for 
money with which to make ready for war. But 
he was reminded by the assembly that in Penn- 
sylvania all men enjoyed an equal right to the 
liberty of conscience ; that the Quakers could 
not in conscience take up arms, and that to 
compel them so to do would be a violation of 
the fundamental doctrines of the constitution. 
To exempt the Quakers from military service 
would, on the other hand, be to make a partial 
law, and to make partial laws was unconstitu- 
tional and impolitic. In short, he was plainly 
told that the Quakers would neither fight them- 
selves, nor openly furnish means for others to 
fight. Even when war was formally declared 
from the court-house steps, he could obtain 
nothing, and was forced to be content with 
drumming up volunteers for an expedition " to 
plunder Cuba." 

The proclamation which the governor put 
forth on that occasion, and which Franklin 
printed, is a fine commentary on the warfare of 
that age. It reads like such a speech as might 
have been made to the braves who sacked 
Schenectady, or such an exhortation as Black- 
beard might have made on the eve of battle to 
the wretches that constituted his pirate crew. 

" The Spaniards," the humane governor an- 



WAR WITH SPAIN. 139 

nounced, "have no strength either of men or 
fortifications that can resist the king's forces 
on this expedition ; they will be an easy con- 
quest and you the gainers. They will fly before 
you and leave their houses, their negroes, their 
money, plate, jewels, and plantations to be pos- 
sessed by you and your posterity forever. 

" Consider the terms, too, on which you are 
invited to this undertaking. It is not at your or 
your country's expense. No ! the king defrays 
the whole charge. He pays you. He clothes 
you. He arms you. He transports you to the 
places of victor}^, plunder, and riches, and then 
transports you hither again if you choose to re- 
turn. . . . Would you throw off your homespun, 
and shine in silver and gold lace and embroi- 
dery ? Would you grow rich at once ? Would 
you leave great estates to your posterity ? Go 
volunteer in this expedition and take the island 
of Cuba." 

So alluring did the prospect seem, that seven 
companies were soon enlisted and quartered in 
the towns near Philadelphia ; and of these troops 
fully three hundred were redemptioners who 
had volunteered for the king's service without 
their masters' consent. Out of this grew a long 
dispute between the governor and the assem- 
bly, which neither the appearance of Spanish 
privateers off the coast, nor the declaration of 



140 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, 

war with France, nor the arrival of a French 
privateer at the Capes, nor the rejoicings which 
followed the capture of Louisburg, could quite 
compose. 

When news came that the fleet had actually 
sailed, the desire to hear of its success became 
intense. "My shop," Franklin wrote to his 
brother John, " is filled with thirty inquirers at 
the coming in of every post. Some wonder the 
place is not yet taken. I tell them I shall be 
glad to hear that news three months hence." 
When he did hear it the city was made wild with 
joy. Bells were rung, bonfires lighted, toasts 
drunk, and whole days spent in visits of congrat- 
ulation. Then at last the Quakers yielded a 
trifle, and placed four thousand pounds in the 
hands of two trustees " to purchase bread, beef, 
pork, flour, wheat or other grain to be used in 
the king's service as the governor shall think 
best." The story has come down to us that the 
governor declared " other grain " meant pow- 
der, and that for powder the money was spent. 

Be this as it may, the time for such trifling 
was soon to end. On the morning of July 12, 
1747, a sloop came to anchor just off Cape 
May, ran up the English colors, and signaled 
for a pilot to come on board. The first to see 
her obeyed, and clambered up her side to find 
himself on the deck of a French privateer com- 



PRIVATEERS IN THE DELAWARE. 141 

manded by French officers and manned by a 
Spanish crew. Seizing the pilot-boat, an officer 
and some men sailed into the Delaware, landed 
near New Castle, plundered two houses, beat a 
man, shot a woman, and carried off a negro 
wench. As they passed down the river they 
robbed a second pilot-boat of sails. 

Even these outrages, perpetrated within 
twenty miles of the town, did not move the 
Quakers to put the province in a state of de- 
fense. The president of the city council was 
not in town. But the members assembled, and 
declared that the province and the lower coun- 
ties ought to be defended. Unhappily they 
had no money, the assembly was not sitting, 
and the assembly alone could provide the 
money. In this strait some merchants offered 
to advance the sum needed if the members of 
the assembly would promise to support a bill 
to pay them back. The city members were in- 
stantly summoned : the speaker and four others 
attended, heard the proposition, and firmly an- 
swered No ! They would as soon, they said, 
take a commission to fight. Nor would the 
assembly, when it met, do anything. There 
was nothing to fear. The late danger was past 
and gone. No future attack was to be feared : 
the city was too far from the sea. Three days 
after this stupid answer of the assembly a 



142 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

Frencli privateer sailed up the Delaware, and a 
second time the city was filled with alarm. Be- 
fore a fortnight had passed the Spanish priva- 
teers entered the river, and the men of Lewis- 
ton were three days under arms. Even then 
the assembly could only lament that such 
things could be. 

While these events were happening on the 
river, Franklin was deep in the study of elec- 
tricity. No study, he declared in a letter writ- 
ten in 1T47, had ever before so completely 
taken up his attention and his time. What 
with making experiments by himself, and re- 
peating them before friends who came in crowds 
to see, he had, he wrote, leisure for little else. 
But, the moment the assembly refused to de- 
fend the city and the province, Franklin put 
away his Leyden jars, turned once more to 
public affairs, and wrote a pamphlet which he 
called " Plain Truth." 

The date of publication was long in doubt. 
One biographer has placed it in 1744 ; another 
somewhere between 1746 and 1747. Had 
either of them taken the pains to examine the 
" Pennsylvania Gazette " for Thursday, Novem- 
ber 12, 1747, he might there have read, " Next 
Saturday will be published ' Plain Truth ; or. 
Serious Considerations on the Present State of 
the City of Philadelphia and Province of Penn- 



"PLAIN truth:' 143 

sylvania, by a Tradesman of Philadelptiia.' " 
Then followed a long quotation from Sallust. 

Having thus announced the pamphlet, Frank- 
lin went on to advertise it in his characteristic 
way, wrote a couple of pieces in praise of it and 
inserted them in the " Gazette " of November 
19. One was a translation of the Latin quota- 
tion, with a few lines by way of preface signed 
" X " and addressed to " Mr. Franklin." The 
other he pretended came from a Presbyterian. 
" Whereas," it began, " in a paper called ' Plain 
Truth,' lately published, there are several in- 
jurious Reflections on a number of Persons, who 
the Writer calls the Party opposed to the Qua- 
kers, as if they were utterly regardless of the 
Public Good, and from mean and unjustifiable 
motives would refuse to do any Thing for the 
Defence of the Country, some of those supposed 
to be pointed at think it a Justice due to them- 
selves and others to declare, that whatever might 
have been the inconsiderate Expressions of a 
few, during the Heat of our late Party Differ- 
ences, they always have been and now are sin- 
cerely and heartily determined to exert them- 
selves, according to their several Abilities, for 
our common Security. Which may the more 
easily gain Belief when it is considered they 
were many of them at large Expense the Sum- 
mer past in defraying the charge of a vessel 



144 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

sent out as a Guard-a^Coast, and that it cost 
some of them (being owners) Six Hundred 
Pounds beyond what they gave by Subscrip- 
tion. And tho' they think they have great Rea- 
son to resent the abuse and unjustifiable Treat- 
ment given them by that Writer, yet they waive 
every Thing of this kind, in consideration of 
his appearing to mean well. And they do 
hereby further declare, that if he or any other 
Person can propose a practicable Scheme by 
which the Inhabitants of this Province may be 
united and disciplined, and the county and city 
put into a state of Defence, none shall enter 
into the same more heartily than they." 

The sole purpose for which this pretended 
criticism was written is set forth in the closing 
sentence. At the end of his pamphlet Frank- 
lin promised his readers that he would, if his 
hints met their approval, lay before them, in a 
few days, a plan of an association for defense. 
He now in his criticism called upon himself to 
furnish " a practical scheme," and speedily did 
so. We are told in the Autobiography that 
he made ready a draft, appointed a meeting of 
townsmen at the New Building, harangued the 
people, distributed pens, ink, and copies of the 
plan, and that, when the papers were gathered, 
twelve hundred men were found to have signed. 
This, unhappily, is not true. Franklin wrote 



''PLAIN TRUTH." 145 

his account forty-one years after the event de- 
scribed ; he had then forgotten what really took 
place, and what really took place appears from 
his own newspaper to have been this : ^ — 

" Last Saturday a great number of the Inhab- 
itants of this City met at Mr. Walton's School- 
House in Arch Street, when a Form of an 
Association for our common Security and De- 
fense against the enemy was consider'd and 
agreed to. On Monday following the same was 
laid before a great meeting of the principal 
Gentlemen, Merchants and others, at Roberts' 
Coffee House, where, after due Debate, it was 
unanimously approv'd of, and another meeting 
appointed for the next Day following at the 
New Building, in order to begin signing. Ac- 
cording, on Tuesday Evening upwards of five 
hundred men of all Ranks subscribed their 
names ; and as the Subscribing is still going 
on briskly in all parts of the Town, 'tis not 
doubted but that in a few Days the number will 
exceed a thousand in this City, exclusive of the 
neighboring Towns and Country." 

To enforce precept with illustration was one 
of Franklin's many hobbies. He accordingly 
made a rude cut, in type metal, of the wagoner 
beseeching Hercules for aid, and stamped it on 
the title-page of the second edition of " Plain 

1 Pennsylvania Gazette, November 26, 1747. 



146 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

Truth." The picture was a fitting emblem of 
the principles and effect of the pamphlet. No 
sooner did the people begin to bestir them- 
selves in their own behalf than help came in 
from every side. The merchants addressed the 
board of trade, and begged that a man-of-war 
might occasionally be sent into Delaware Bay. 
The mayor and common council proposed a 
letter to the proprietaries asking cannon. A 
lottery was started to raise three thousand 
pounds to build a battery. The common coun- 
cil took two thousand tickets, and the fire com- 
panies were asked to take their share. Then 
began one of those foolish contests with which 
the history of every sect of rigid extremists 
abounds. The majority of the members of each 
fire company were Friends, and the Friends 
were set against both lotteries and war. In 
the Union, of which Franklin was a member, 
the contest seems to have been short. Of the 
thirty members, twenty-two were Quakers. On 
the appointed night the eight who were not 
Quakers met promptly in the company room, 
while as many more Quakers friendly to the 
lottery gathered at a neighboring tavern, to 
be called in if necessary. But they were not 
wanted, for only one Quaker came to oppose 
the plan, and the sixty pounds of stock were 
voted to the lottery by eight votes to one. Not 



OPPOSITION TO DEFENSE. 147 

expecting any aid from the Quakers, Franklin 
had made ready a plan of his own. " If," said 
he to Mr. Syng, — '' if we fail, let us move the 
purchase of a fire-engine with the money ; the 
Quakers can have no objection to that ; and 
then, if you nominate me and I you as a com- 
mittee for that purpose, we will buy a great 
gun, and certainly that will be a fire-engine." 

A very different scene, however, took place at 
the meeting of another company. One of the 
members was John Smith, a Quaker, and a 
brother of that Samuel Smith who is now re- 
membered for his " History of New Jersey " and 
his pamphlet " Necessary Truth." His journal 
is still preserved, and under date of November 
31, 1747, he asserts that he spent the evening 
with his fire company ; that defense and the 
association were much the subject of conversa- 
tion, and that he said little till it was proposed 
to use the bank stock for the purchase of tick- 
ets, and vote on the question by ballot ; that he 
then stoutly opposed this private method of 
voting ; declared that he believed many would 
vote "yes " by ballot who would vote " no " on 
a show of hands; reminded them that to dis- 
courage lotteries was the duty of Friends ; and 
carried his point against using the stock by 
nineteen to three. 

But the battery did not suffer on that account. 



148 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

The carpenters gave their labor in building it ; 
the governor of New York loaned some can- 
non ; while the women of the city bought 
the drums, halberds, banners, half-pikes, and 
spontoons for the twenty companies of which 
the Philadelphia regiment was composed. Be- 
fore peace was made in 1748, eighty companies 
were learning their drill, the Association Bat- 
tery was finished, a guard regularly mounted 
there each night, and every householder asked 
to be ready to light his windows with candles 
if the militia should be summoned to the 
battery to repel a night attack. 

That " Plain Truth " had much to do with 
this sudden rise of martial spirit is undoubted. 
Two editions of the pamphlet were called for 
in a month. It was translated into German 
and read by the farmers of Northumberland 
and Bucks. It was promptly answered in 
" Necessary Truth," and provoked so bitter a 
wrangle that, before the year went out, six 
pamphlets were written and three sermons 
preached on the lawfulness of a man defending 
what is his own. 

There was most happily no use for the bat- 
tery or the troops. The treaty of Aix-la- 
Chapelle brought peace to Europe, and with 
the return of peace Franklin went back to his 
schemes of reform. 



PROPOSALS FOR AN ACADEMY, 149 

He was now without doubt the most popular 
man in town. And while this run of popular- 
ity lasted he determined to start his long-cher- 
ished scheme of an academy. His notions of 
what an academy should be were hastily gath- 
ered, a pamphlet written, and the subscribers to 
the " Gazette " surprised, on unfolding their 
newspapers one day in 1749, to find the pam- 
phlet inside. The title was, " Proposals relat- 
ing to the education of youth in Pensilvania." 

The "Advertisement to the Reader" set forth 
that some gentlemen of public spirit were 
about to form a plan for educating youth, and 
called on all who had advice to give as to the 
parts of learning that should be taught, the 
order in which they should be taught, or the 
method of teaching, to send it without loss of 
time to B. Franklin, printer. The house for 
the academy, the hints suggested, should be on 
a spot high and dry, and hard by the bank 
of a river. Without should be gardens and 
orchards, meadows and fields. Within should 
be maps of every land, globes, mathematical 
instruments, prints, and drawing of buildings 
and machines. The scholars were to eat to- 
gether, plainly, temperately, and frugally ; were 
to wear a livery of some sort, that their behav- 
ior might the better be seen ; were to be taught 
to write a fair hand swiftly, and to learn some- 



150 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

thing of arithmetic, of accounts, of drawing, of 
the first principles of geometry and astronomy, 
and of the first principles of perspective. To 
better their English, they were to read Tillotson 
and Addison and Pope, Algernon Sidney, and 
Cato's Letters. 

. Could he have had his own way, neither 
Latin nor Greek would have had a place in the 
scheme. But the men to whom he looked for 
support insisted that they should, and with an 
ill grace he put them in. Not a grammar, how- 
ever, was to be touched till the lads had been 
made eager to study the classics. To make 
them eager they were to be told that Latin and 
Greek were the most expressive, the most co- 
pious, the most beautiful of languages ; that 
the finest writings, the most correct composi- 
tions, the most perfect productions of wit and 
wisdom, were in Latin and Greek ; that to ren- 
der them in English was impossible ; that these 
languages contained all science ; that Latin was 
the language of the learned in all lands, and 
that to understand it was a distinguishing orna- 
ment. 

This was the great principle that underlay 
his plan ; nothing should be taught till the 
scholars were impatient to learn it. There 
should be no logic till by debating they began 
to feel the need of logic. There should be no 



PROPOSALS FOE AN ACADEMY. 151 

mechanics taught till the story of the marvel- 
ous machines used in the arts, in manufactures, 
in war, had aroused a desire to know something 
of the mechanical principles by which such 
wonders were accomplished. There should be 
no oratory till the study of history had filled 
them with admiration of the great things done 
by the masters of oratory. There should be no 
geography till a knowledge of past events awak- 
ened a longing to know the bounds, the situa- 
tions, the exact extent of the countries wherein 
such events had taken place. 

Such in brief were Franklin's proposals. 
Those who read them, highly approved. Ad- 
vice and money were freely given, twenty-four 
subscribers agreed to act as trustees, and the 
academy was opened January 7, 1750-51, in the 
building where it was intended Mr. White field 
should preach. The day was a great one. Mr. 
Peters preached the sermon ; and when the ser- 
mon appeared in print,^ a new pamphlet by 
Franklin was sewed in with it. This was called 
'' Idea of an English School, sketch'd out for 
the consideration of the Trustees of the Phila- 

1 A Sermon on Education. Wherein Some Account is given 
of the Academj'- Established in the City of Philadelphia. 
Preach'd at the Opening thereof, on the Seventh Day of Jan- 
uary, 1750-51. By the Reverend Mr. Richard Peters. Phil- 
adelphia : Printed and sold by B. Franklin and D. Hall, at the 
Post Office. MDCCLI. 



152 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

delpliia Academy." The "Idea" was merely 
the " Proposals " in a new form. 

Nourished by subscriptions, lotteries, and 
gifts, the Academy and Charitable School of 
the Province of Pennsylvania flourished greatly, 
became in time the Philadelphia College, and 
then the University of Pennsylvania. But tlie 
" Idea " of Franklin was never followed. Year 
by year the Latin School was fostered ; year 
by year the English school languished, till it 
fell so far into decay that the trustees endeav- 
ored to abolish it. But the charter would not 
allow them, and the school dragged on a 
wretched existence. Against this stupid at- 
tachment to the classics Franklin protested, a 
few months before his death, in a pamphlet 
called " Observations Relative to the Inten- 
tions of the Orighial Founders of the Academy 
in Philadelphia." 

While seeking money and founders for the 
academy, Franklin renewed his study of elec- 
tricity. Joined with him in this study was a 
man to whose memory posterity has been most 
unkind. No one knew how to improve a hint 
better than Franklin, and more than one dis- 
covery, for which credit has been given to him 
alone, came to him in the shape of a very broad 
hint from Ebenezer Kinnersley. That Frank- 
lin willfully hid the work of his friend there is 



FRANKLIN AND HALL. 153 

no proof whatever. But there is proof that to 
Kinnersley has never been given anything like 
due praise, while to Franklin has been allotted 
much more than is his just share. 

To get time to spend in the study of electric- 
ity, he sold the newspaper, the almanac, and 
the printing-house to David Hall, for eighteen 
thousand pounds, Pennsylvania money, payable 
in eighteen annual installments of a thousand 
pounds each. Small as the yearly payment 
may seem, it was in truth a great one, was 
about half the profits of the business, was 
equal to the salary of a provincial governor, 
and would enable the possessor to live in a 
style that could not now be kept up on seven 
thousand dollars. Till the eighteen years had 
passed, a partnership was to exist under the 
firm name of Franklin & Hall, and some help 
was to be given by Franklin in editing the 
" Pennsylvania Gazette " and writing " Poor 
Richard." The places which he held under 
the crown and the colony brought him perhaps 
one hundred and fifty pounds more. 

Thus, at the age of forty-two, this English 
candle-maker's son, by a strict adherence to the 
maxims of " Poor Richard," had acquired 
riches, had retired from business, and had be- 
gun that series of remarkable discoveries which, 
before he was fifty, made his name familiar to 



154 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

every learned society and to every educated 
man in Europe. "I have," he wrote in Sep- 
tember, 1748, *' removed to a more quiet part of 
the town, where I am settling my old accounts, 
and soon hope to be quite master of my own 
time, and no longer, as the song has it, at every 
one's call but my own. If health continue, I 
Iiope to be able in another year to visit the most 
distant friend I have, without inconvenience. 
With the same view, I have refused engaging 
further in public affairs. The share I had in 
the late association having given me a little 
present run of popularity, there was a pretty 
general intention of choosing me a representa- 
tive of the city at the next election of assem- 
blymen ; but I have desired all my friends who 
spoke to me about it to discourage it, declaring 
that I should not serve if chosen. Thus you 
see I am in a fair way of having no other tasks 
than such as I shall like to give myself, and of 
enjoying what I look upon as a great happiness, 
— leisure to read, study, make experiments, and 
converse at large with such ingenious and 
worthy men as are pleased to honor me with 
their friendship or acquaintance." . . . 

The fruit of this leisure was rich indeed. 
Leaving the electrical apparatus he bought 
from Dr. Spence, and the yet finer apparatus 
sent over to the library by the proprietary, Mr. 



ELECTRICAL WRITINGS. 155 

Penn, he turned to the study of the electrical 
phenomena of nature, with the most marvelous 
results. Early in 1749 came his " Observations 
and Suppositions towards forming a new Hy- 
pothesis for explaining the several Phenomena 
of Thunder-gusts." In 1750 he wrote " Opin- 
ions and Conjectures concerning the Properties 
and Effects of the Electrical Matter, and the 
Means of Preserving Buildings, Ships, &c., 
from Lightning, arising from Experiments and 
Observations made at Philadelphia, 1749." Of 
all his writings on the subject of electricity his 
greatest is this, for in it is that short paragraph 
in which he describes and suggests the many 
uses of the lightning-rod. It had long been a 
custom with Franklin to make known the results 
of his experiments in electricity to his old friend 
Peter Collinson, of London, and by Collinson 
the letters were from time to time laid before 
the Royal Societ}?-. There they met with that 
reception which in all ages and by the great 
mass of all people has always been given to 
whatever is new. Franklin was laughed at, and 
the contents of his letters declared to be of no 
account. But Collinson thought otherwise, and 
when the " Observations " and '* Opinions " 
reached him, determined that they should be 
given to the world. Dr. Fothergill gladly wrote 
the preface. Cave, of the Gentlemen's Maga- 



156 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

zine, consented to publish them, and in May, 
1751, a little pamphlet entitled " New Experi- 
ments and Observations in Electricity, made at 
Philadelphia, in America," came out and went 
the round of Europe. One copy was presented 
to the Royal Society, and Sir William Watson 
requested to make an abstract. A second passed 
over to France, fell into the hands of the Count 
de Buffon, was translated at his request by M. 
Dubourg, had a great sale at Paris, and soon 
appeared in German, Latin, and Italian. Louis 
had every experiment described in the pam- 
phlet repeated in his presence. Abbd Nollet, 
vp^ho taught the royal children what was then 
called " natural philosophy," added his mite 
by asserting that no such person as Franklin 
existed. Buffon, De Lor, and Dalibard hastened 
to put up the apparatus described in the pam- 
phlet for drawing electricity from the clouds, 
and each succeeded. Dalibard was first, and on 
the 10th of May, 1752, demonstrated that light- 
ning and electricity are the same. One month 
later, Franklin flew his famous kite at Philadel- 
phia and proved the fact himself. The Royal 
Society of London, which had laughed at his 
theory of lightning, now made him a member, 
and the next year honored him with a Copley 
medal. 

While the whole scientific world was thus 



TEE SAVAGES OF NORTH AMERICA. 157 

doing him honor, he suddenly abandoned his 
studies and went back to politics, and was once 
more loaded with offices of every sort. His 
townsmen elected him assemblyman, and he 
took his seat in 1752. The home government 
appointed him, with William Hunter of Vir- 
ginia, postmaster-general for the colonies. The 
assembly sent him with its speaker to hold a 
conference with the Indians at Carlisle. There, 
as he beheld the drunken orgies round the bon- 
fire on the public square, he seems for the first 
time to have realized the squalid misery to 
which contact with the white man was fast re- 
ducing the Indian tribes. The fruit of his mis- 
sion was a treaty, and in time a pamphlet, 
which he named '' Remarks concerning the 
Savages of North America." A tradition is ex- 
tant that it was written many years afterwards, 
and printed for his own amusement on his pri- 
vate press at Passey ; for it was not given to 
the world till 1784. As a piece of humorous 
satire, the " Remarks " deserve to be ranked 
among the best of his writings. So well is it 
done that no number of perusals will suffice to j 
determine whether the butt of his wit is the 
white man or the red ; the pious Dutchman 
of Albany who went to church to hear good 
things on Sunday and defrauded the Indian 
during the week, or the ignorant savage who 



158 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

despised civilization and believed the church a 
place where the pale-face learned to be inhos- 
pitable and to cheat. 

In public life Franklin displayed great exec- 
utive power mingled with traits which cannot 
be too strongly condemned. The vicious polit- 
ical doctrine that to the victor belongs the 
spoils, he adopted in its worst form, and, though 
he never sought oflBce, he never, in the whole 
course of his life, failed to use his office for the 
advancement of men of his own family and his 
own blood. "When he became a member of the 
assembly, his place of clerk, made vacant by 
his election, was by his influence given to his 
son. When he became postmaster-general of 
the colonies, he at once made his son controller 
of the post-office, and gave the postmastership 
of Philadelphia, in turn to the same son, to a 
relative, and to one of his brothers. When he 
was postmaster of the United States, his deputy 
was his son-in-law, Richard Bache. Yet no man 
ever performed the duties of the place better 
than Franklin. In his hands the whole system 
of the post-office underwent a complete change. 
He straightened the routes; he cut down the 
postage; he forced the post-riders to hasten 
their pace ; he opened the mail-bags to news- 
papers by whomsoever printed, and made their 
carriage a source of revenue to the crown ; he 



REFORMS THE POST-OFFICE. 159 

established tbe penny-post in the large towns ; 
and for the first time advertised unclaimed let- 
ters in the newspapers. Mails that used to go 
out but once a week, began under him to go 
out three times as often. Riders who in the 
winter used to make the trip from Philadelphia 
to New York but twice each month, now, in 
the coldest weather, went over the route once 
a week. When in a fit of passion the home 
government deprived him of his place, the 
American post-office paid the salaries of the 
postmasters, and yielded a revenue three times 
as great as then came from the Irish post-office 
to the crown. 

Franklin began the work of reform by visit- 
ing every post-office in the country save that at 
Charleston, and had scarcely returned from his 
journey when he was sent to Albany on a mat- 
ter of great concern. ^, The final contest for the 
supremacy of Francle or England in America 
had begun. Looking back on that contest 
after the lapse of one hundred and thirty years, 
it is easy to see that it could not in the nature 
of things have ended otherwise than it did. 
Both nations began their occupation of Amer- 
ica at almost precisely the same time. The first 
successful English settlement was made at 
Jamestown in 1607, and the first successful 
French settlement at Quebec in 1608. But 



160 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

the purpose for which the men of each race had 
crossed the Atlantic was totally different. The 
English came to settle ; the French came to 
conquer. While, therefore, the English were 
building cities, establishing colonies, founding 
great commonwealths, planting, trading, and 
building ships, the French were busy exploring, 
discovering, erecting forts, and seeking furs and 
proselytes among the Indians of the Northwest. 
Hindered from coming southward by the ani- 
mosity of the Iroquois, the French pushed 
into the West, and before 1673 Le Caron, a 
Franciscan, preached Jesus to the savages on 
the shores of Lake Huron ; Breboeuf and 
Daniel penetrated to the strait of Sault Ste. 
Marie; Mesnard reached the waters of Lake 
Superior, paddled in a birch canoe along the 
southern shore, put up a church at the Bay of 
St. Theresa, and lost his life among the Sioux ; 
AUouez explored both shores of the lake, and 
heard from the Indians of the river Mississippi, 
which Marquette and Joliet explored. Nine 
years later La Salle sailed down the Missis- 
sippi to the Gulf, and called that magnificent 
valley, through which the river flowed, Louis- 
iana, after Louis XIV. Before the century 
ended, Biloxi, in Mississippi, was founded, and 
in 1702 Mobile. In 1718 Law's Mississippi 
Company founded New Orleans. 



FRENCH AGGRESSION. 161 

Once in possession of the mouth of the river, 
France laid claim to all the territory the Mis- 
sissippi and its tributaries drained, began to 
encroach on English domain, and built that 
famous chain of forts from New Orleans to 
Quebec. In 1731 a band of Frenchmen en- 
tered New York and put up Crown Point. In 
1750 the whole north shore of the Bay of 
Fundy, from Chignecto to the Kennebec, was 
in French hands. They next came up the val- 
ley of the Ohio, and built forts at Niagara, at 
Presque Isle, and on the river Le Boeuf. 

Alarmed and justly alarmed for the safety 
of her possessions, England now bade the colo- 
nies arm for defense. So long as the French 
remained in Canada, or built their forts to the 
west of the Alleghany range, she cared but little. 
But now they had crossed the St. Lawrence 
and the mountains and had begun advancing 
steadily to the sea, the king was disposed to 
command his subjects in America to drive the 
French invaders from the soil. To do this 
more speedily, the richest, the most populous of 
the colonies were invited to send delegates to 
Albany, there to make a treaty with the Six 
Nations, and frame a plan of common defense. 
Rhode Island and Connecticut, Georgia and 
the Carolinas, received no invitation. Their 
attendance was to be demanded by their sister 



162 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

colonies, and this demand Rhode Island and 
Connecticut alone obeyed. Of those invited, 
Virginia and New Jersey did not attend. 

Scarcely had the delegates begun to be chosen, 
when the French invaded Pennsylvania, and 
led away the surveyors of the English Ohio 
Company into captivity. Under the narrative 
of the capture of Trent and his men, which 
appears in the " Pennsylvania Gazette," is a 
cut in type-metal of a snake divided into parts, 
and beneath it the words " Join or Die." 

Both the design and the cutting were the 
work of Franklin. The idea of union had 
long been in his mind, and to the conference 
which gathered at Albany he brought a care- 
fully drawn plan. The credit of that plan is 
commonly given to him. But it ought in jus- 
tice never to be mentioned without a reference 
to the name of Daniel Coxe. Thirty-two years 
before, when Franklin was mixing ink and 
setting type in the office of the " New England 
Courant," Coxe published a tract called " A 
Description of the English Province of Caro- 
lana," and in the preface of that tract is the 
Albany plan. So early as 1722 Coxe foresaw 
the French aggression, called on the colonies to 
unite to prevent it, and drew up the heads of 
a scheme for united action. Coxe proposed a 
governor-general appointed by the crown, and 



ALBANY PLAN OF UNION. 163 

a congress of delegates chosen by the assem- 
blies of the colonies. Franklin proposed the 
very saaie thing. Coxe would have each colony 
send two delegates annually elected. Franklin 
would have from two to seven delegates tri- 
ennially elected. By each the governor-gen- 
eral was given a veto. By each the grand 
council, with consent of the governor-general, 
was to determine the quotas of men, monej^, 
and provisions the colonies should contribute to 
the common defense. The difference between 
them is a difference in detail, not in plan. The 
datail belongs to Franklin. The plan must be 
ascribed to Coxe. 

Excellent as the Albany plan was, the colo- 
nies and the home government alike rejected 
it : no unity of action followed ; and the war, 
which a little energy, a little unity, would soon 
have ended, dragged on for nine years. 

And now that the colonies could devise no 
scheme for defending themselves, the king 
determined to defend them, and entrusted the 
task to Edmund Braddock. Doomed to meet 
with a terrible fate, he landed at Alexandria 
in 1755, marched to Fredericktown, and scoured 
the country for horses, wagons, and army sup- 
plies. No sooner was his arrival in Virginia 
known, than Franklin was sent by the assembly 
of Pennsylvania to explain why they still per- 



164 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

sisted in refusing supplies. He performed the 
mission with his usual tact and skill, and quit 
the camp with a contract in his pocket to fur- 
nish horses, wagons, drivers, and a pack-train to 
the army of the king. To persuade the farm- 
ers of Lancaster and York to part with their 
beasts in such a cause was no easy thing. But 
he knew his men, and in a very carefully worded 
address so tempted their greed and roused their 
fear, that in less than a fortnight the teams 
and wagons set out for the camp at Wills 
Creek. 

For this he was thanked by the assembly and 
praised by the people, who soon gave him an 
opportunity to serve them again. In the ruin 
which overwhelmed the army of Braddock, the 
whole frontier was left exposed. The expedi- 
tion against Niagara got no further than Os- 
wego. The expedition against Crown Point 
stopped at the foot of Lake George. Stirred 
up by the French, and excited by victory, the 
Indians hurried eastward, and by November 
were burning, plundering, scalping, massacring, 
within eighty miles of Philadelphia. Bethle- 
hem was threatened, Gnadenhutten was laid 
waste. In Lancaster and Easton, men trem- 
bled for their lives. To overawe the governor, 
the assembly, the Quakers, and compel them to 
put the province in a state of defense, the 



''DIALOGUE BETWEEN X, F, AND Z." 165 

mangled bodies of a family the Indians liad 
killed were carried about the city in an open 
cart, and laid out before the state-house door. 
The Quakers had long refused either to fight 
themselves, or furnish the means for others to 
fight. The governor would approve no tax 
levy from which the proprietary estates were 
not expressly exempt. The assembly would 
pass no tax-bill in which the lands of the pro- 
prietaries were not included. But, in the ter- 
rible days that followed the news of Brad- 
dock's defeat, all parties began to give way. 
The Penns bade their treasurer add five thou- 
sand pounds to any sum the assembly raised 
for purposes of defense. The assembly voted 
sixty thousand pounds, named Franklin one 
of seven commissioners for expending it, and 
hurried through a militia bill which Frank- 
lin prepared. The preamble exempted Qua- 
kers from bearing arms. Numbers of men 
would not in consequence enlist. They would 
not, they said, fight for men who would not fight 
for them. To shame them, Franklin again 
had recourse to his pen, and wrote " A Dialogue 
between X, Y and Z concerning the present 
State of Affairs in Pennsylvania," and pub- 
lished it in the " Gazette." 

The effect of the '^ Dialogue " seems to have 
been considerable, and when, in the middle of 



166 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

December, a call was made for troops to defend 
the frontier, five hundred and forty men re- 
sponded. Franklin accepted the command, and, 
with his son William as aid-de-camp, set out 
for the ruins of Gnadenhutten. There he passed 
two months hunting Indians and building forts, 
till urgent letters came from his friends and 
from the governor begging him to return. The 
assembly was soon to meet. The old quarrel 
was to be renewed, and Franklin could not be 
spared. 

But the assembly met, adjourned, and met 
again, and a new governor came out from Eng- 
land before the crisis was reached. It was in 
December, 1756, that the patience of the as- 
sembly, so long and sorely tried, gave way. 
The affairs of the colonies were desperate. The 
French had taken Oswego and Fort George 
and razed them to the ground. The expedition 
against Ticonderoga had come to naught. That 
up the Kennebec had done no better. Fort 
Duquesne had not surrendered, while the fort 
and settlement at Grenville had been sacked. 
The whole frontier of Pennsylvania, indeed, 
was unprotected. Meantime the treasury was 
empty, and the foe more bold and insolent than 
ever. To meet the needs of the hour, the as- 
sembly now laid a tax of X 60,000, and to make 
it acceptable to the governor laid it, not on 



FRANKLIN SENT TO ENGLAND. 167 

the Penn estate, but on wine, rum, brandy, and 
liquors. But the governor would not consent. 
A conference followed, the bill came back to 
tbe house, and with it came the tart assurance 
that he would send his reasons to the king. 

Then the assembly for the first time began 
to act and to speak boldly. They ordered such 
a money bill to be prepared as the governor 
would sign. They resolved to send home a 
remonstrance setting forth the evils that would 
come on Pennsylvania if governed, not by the 
laws and charters, but by the instructions of 
the Penns, and they chose two members to rep- 
resent the province in England. Isaac Norris 
refused to serve. But Franklin accepted, and 
the next five years of his life were spent in 
England. 



CHAPTER VL 

1756-1764. 

These five years were in many respects the 
most glorious and the most important in Eng- 
lish history. At last the long series of disasters 
which had overwhelmed the royal armies had 
ended. Since the day the Great Commoner took 
the post of secretary, victory had followed vic- 
tory with amazing rapidity. In July, 1758, 
Louisburg surrendered ; then Cape Breton 
fell ; and the great French fleet, the terror of 
the coast, was annihilated. Scarcely had the 
captured standards been hung in St. Paul's 
when 1759 opened, and the nation heard with 
delight of the conquest of Goree ; of the fall 
of Guadaloupe, Ticonderoga, and Niagara ; of 
the capture of Quebec. Before 1760 closed 
Montreal capitulated ; the arms of England 
were triumphant in Canada, in India, on the 
sea, and the old king died. 

With the accession of the new king arose a 
cry for peace. The Tories, with George III. at 
their head, were clamorous for peace on any 



A PRETENDED OLD BOOK. 169 

terms. The Whigs, with Pitt at their head, 
were for a vigorous prosecution of the war ; and 
no Pittite believed more firmly in this policy 
than Franklin, and believing in it he wrote in 
its defense. 

He pretended that, while ransacking the old 
book-stalls, he had found a book printed at Lon- 
don in 1629. The cover was gone ; the title- 
page was wanting. But he believed the work 
was written by a Jesuit, and addressed to some 
king of Spain. Reading it over, he was struck 
to see how aptly the remarks in one of the 
chapters applied to present affairs. It was the 
thirty-fourth, and bore the heading, " On the 
Meanes of disposing the Enemie to Peace." 
War, the Jesuit said, with, whatsoever pru- 
dence carried on, did not always succeed. 
The best designs were often overthrown by 
famine, pestilence, and storm ; so that enemies 
at first weak became by these helps strong, 
made conquests, and, puffed with success, re- 
fused to make peace but on their own harsh 
terms. Yet it was possible by dexterous man- 
agement to get back all that had been lost by 
the cross accidents of war. If the minds of the 
enemy could only be changed, they would often 
give up, willingly and for nothing, more than 
could be obtained by force. Now this change 
of mind, particularly in England, might be se- 



170 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

cured by the distribution of a few doubloons. 
There were many men of learning, ingenious 
speakers and able writers, who, despite their 
ability, were pinched by fortune and of low es- 
tate. A little money would gain them, and, 
once gained, let them be bidden, in sermons, 
speeches, poems, songs, and essays, to enlarge 
mightily on the blessings of peace. Let them 
dwell on the horrors of war, on the waste of 
blood and treasure, on commerce destroyed, on 
ships captured, on taxes greatly increased, on 
the smallness and sickliness of the captured 
places, and on the great cost to the country if 
they be not given back. Let this be done, and 
the simple, undiscerning many will be quickly 
carried away by the plausible arguments. Then 
will rich men having property to be taxed, mer- 
chants having ships to lose, officers of the army 
and navy who wish to enjoy their pay in quiet, 
unite in one great cry for peace. Then will 
peace be made, and places lost to the enemy by 
the accidents of war be willingly restored. 

The letter attracted much attention at the 
time, and found its way into the Gentlemen's 
Magazine. But the king's friends carried the 
day and the French and Indian war ended. 
France was indeed defeated, but she was not 
conquered. To hold everything taken from her 
was therefore impossible, and the question be- 



INTERESTS OF GREAT BRITAIN CONSIDERED. 171 

came, What shall be given up ? Shall it be Can- 
ada or Guadaloupe ? Sball it be the conquest in 
America or the conquest in the Indies ? The 
Earl of Bath, in a " Letter to Two Great Men 
on the Prospect of Peace," was for keeping Can- 
ada. William Burke, in his " Remarks on the 
Letter addressed to Two Great Men," was for 
keeping Guadaloupe. The author of " The In- 
terest of Great Britain considered with regard 
to her Colonies " supported the Earl of Bath. 
Who was the author remained long in doubt. 
Benjamin Mecom at once reprinted the pam- 
phlet, and ascribed it to Franklin. Franklin 
during his lifetime was heard to say that in 
writing it he had been greatly helped by a 
friend. There is now no doubt that this friend 
was Richard Jackson, the agent of Pennsyl- 
vania and Connecticut in England, that he did 
most of the work and that Franklin made most 
of the suggestions. Indeed, it now appears from 
the manuscripts at Washington that in 1780 a 
correspondence took place on the subject be- 
tween Dr. Priestley, Baron Meseres, and the 
editor of an unknown magazine. The letters of 
Priestley are gone ; but those of Meseres and 
the editor are preserved, and in them the partic- 
ular paragraphs Franklin wrote are marked out. 
Meseres, who had his information from Jackson, 
ascribes to Franklin all the notes and less than 



172 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

one third the text. He declares also that the 
lines printed in italics at the heads of the para- 
graphs ought not to be there, but in the margin 
as notes. 

The pamphlet went through two editions at 
London and two at Boston, and called forth a 
long reply. But the answer availed nothing. 
The Treaty of Paris was signed, and Canada 
was not given up. 

Franklin in the mean while went back to Phil- 
adelphia. There for a time he seems to have 
thought of quitting politics, living at his ease, 
building a fine house, and passing his time in 
studying electricity and writing a work on the 
" Art of Virtue." Had he done so, the book 
would, unquestionably, have been very ingen- 
ious and very amusing, would have abounded 
in apt illustrations, sound maxims, wit, and 
good stories well told ; but it would have done 
as little for the encouragement of virtue as the 
three books of Seneca have done for the sup- 
pression of anger. 

From such a fate he was happily saved by 
being again drawn into politics. The rejoicing 
that followed the Peace of Paris had not had 
time to die away when the country heard 
with horror of that great Indian uprising 
known to history as the Conspiracy of Pon- 
tiac. Scarcely had the trees put forth their 



CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC. 173 

leaves wlien hordes of savages stole from their 
villages and laid waste the frontier posts. In 
quick succession fell Sandusky and St. Joseph, 
and the Miamis forts, and Niagara and Ve- 
nango, and Michilimackinac and Presque Isle. 
Pontiac himself besieged Detroit. The people 
of Le Boeuf quit their village and fled for 
their lives. The Indians, sweeping eastward, 
attacked Fort Pitt. Scalping parties raided the 
whole western border of Pennsylvania, burning, 
sacking, murdering everywhere. Thousands 
of settlers, leaving everything behind them, fled 
to Carlisle. Hundreds more sought safety in 
the woods that lined the Susquehanna. The 
whole state was in commotion, but nowhere was 
the alarm greater than among the Scotch-Irish 
of Lancaster. Scattered among them here and 
there were little bands of red men the Mora- 
vian missionaries had persuaded to accept the 
name of Christ. Some were at Bethlehem ; 
some were at Nazareth ; some had been 
assigned lands on the Manor of Conestoga. 
There, under the influence of the missionaries 
they became the most harmless and innocent 
of men ; put off paint and feathers ; put on 
hats and clothes, adopted English habits, Eng- 
lish names, English speech, and learned to 
make, for a living, baskets and brooms. But 
to the Scotch-Irishmen of Lancaster they were 



174 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

still Indians, and Indians were in their eyes 
men cursed of God, They were the Canaan- 
ites of the New World. The command laid on 
Joshua of old was binding still. It was the 
duty of every follower of the crucified Lord to 
drive out heathen from the land. Threats were 
made, sermons were preached, handbills were 
spread about, till what was elsewhere a war of 
defense became in Lancaster a religious cru- 
sade. Alarmed at what was going on about 
them, the Indians at Bethlehem and Nazareth 
cried out for protection, were taken to an island 
in the Delaware, and sent thence under military 
escort to the borders of New York. But the 
Conestoga Indians, numbering twenty — men, 
women, and children, all told — had stayed on 
the Manor, and it was on them that, one night 
late in December, 1763, a band of fanatics from 
Donegal and Paxtang (or Paxton) made a 
descent. No more than six of the Indians 
were at home, and these were murdered in cold 
blood. Horrified at such barbarity, the author- 
ities of Lancaster gathered the remnant of the 
tribe in the workhouse. Even there they were 
not safe, and a hundred brutes from Paxton 
and Donegal broke open the workhouse, massa- 
cred the fourteen Indians there confined, and 
rode away, declaring their next attack would be 
on the Indians at Province Island. Nor was the 



THE ''PAXTON BOYS." 175 

threat an idle one. Early in January the men 
of Lebanon, Paxton, and Hanover began form- 
ing companies preparatory to the attack. 

The Indians, in terror for their lives, begged 
hard that they might be sent to England. To 
grant this request was impossible ; so it was 
determined to send them to Sir William John- 
son in Central New York. Some Highlanders 
about to march to New York agreed to escort 
the Indians. Governor Franklin gave them 
leave to cross New Jersey, and they were soon 
safe at Amboy. There trouble arose. Golden 
would not suffer them to enter New York ; 
they could not stay in New Jersey, and were 
quickly marched back to Philadelphia, protected 
by troops sent by General Gage. 

At Philadelphia the Indians were lodged in 
the new barracks in Northern Liberties. 
Scarcely was this accomplished when news 
arrived that the Paxton Boys were surely com- 
ing. One, Robert Fulton by name, deposed to 
Penn that he had heard the leading men of 
Lancaster declare that in ten days' time they 
would have the scalp of every Moravian Indian 
in the town. Penn therefore ordered some 
troops at Carlisle to march into Lancaster, and 
sent word to the barracks to fire on any body of 
men that approached in a hostile manner. 

On Saturday, the 4th of February, it was 






176 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

known that the Paxtons were really armed and 
marching. Some said they were five hundred, 
some seven hundred, some fifteen hundred 
strong. What to do, the governor knew not ; 
so he fled to Franklin's house for protection, 
and summoned the citizens to meet at the state- 
house in the afternoon. Though the day was 
cold and stormy, three thousand at least are 
said to have obeyed the call, and to have en- 
rolled one hundred and fifty men to spend the 
night under arms at the barracks. There, all 
was hurry and preparation. Cannon and powder 
were brought from the state-house ; and during 
Sunday, carpenters were kept hard at work 
fortifying the gates, and putting up a redoubt 
in the center of the barracks yard. 

Towards evening, rumors were afloat that the 
Paxtons had been seen. At eleven and at 
three at night, expresses rode into town with 
positive assurance that the enemy was near. 
Instantly the watch was bidden to shout the 
news in the streets ; the church bells were 
rung, drums were beaten, and, while the women 
hastened to put candles in the windows to light 
the streets, the men set off for the barracks. 
By sunrise six hundred were under arms, and, 
to the amazement of the community, not an 
inconsiderable part were young Quakers. 

When something like order had been estab- 



THE ''PAXTON B0Y8.'' Ill 

lished, scouts were sent out to explore each 
road, while parties were dispatched to cut the 
ropes and secure the boats at the upper and 
lower ferries. Suddenly it was remembered 
that the boats at the Swedes ferry on the Dela- 
ware were not secured, and an armed band 
went off to sink them. But they were too late. 
The Paxton Boys had already crossed and were 
even then at Germantown. 

The nearness of the foe increased both curi- 
osity and alarm. Some, who had never beheld 
a band of frontiersmen in their life, rode off to 
Germantown, and on their return described the 
Paxtons as a fine set of fellows, dressed in 
blanket coats and moccasins, and armed with 
knives, tomahawks, and guns. Others were for 
marching out, surrounding the men from Lan- 
caster, and taking them prisoners. But cooler 
heads prevailed, and a committee, of which 
Franklin was one, met the malcontents on 
Tuesday morning, remonstrated with them, and 
received a written remonstrance in return. 

The document had been written by some one 
at Philadelphia and contained eight grievances. 
It was thought unjust that, while the counties 
of Lancaster, Berks, Northampton, Cumberland, 
and York sent in all but ten delegates to the 
assembly, Philadelphia, Bucks, and Chester 
should send twenty-six. It was felt to be a 



178 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

grievance that a bill should have been intro- 
duced that persons accused of killing Indians 
on the frontier should be tried, not in the county 
where the alleged crime was committed, but in 
Chester, Philadelphia, or Bucks. It was insisted 
that while the war lasted all Indians should be 
sent out of the inhabited districts ; that the 
wounded on the border should be cared for at 
public expense ; that rewards should be offered 
for Indian scalps; and that Israel Pemberton 
should not be allowed to treat with the Indians 
and take gifts of wampum like a governor. This 
document delivered, the Paxtons were taken to 
the barracks, shown the Indians, and asked to 
point out the murderers of their friends. They 
could recognize but one, and she an old squaw. 
Much pacified, they rode back to Lancaster. 

While every Presbyterian preacher, every 
Episcopalian parson, and not a few of the So- 
ciety of Friends, lauded the foul deed of the 
Paxton Boys as an act acceptable to God, it is 
pleasing to find that Franklin had the boldness 
to call it what it was. In a pamphlet entitled 
" A Narrative of the late Massacre, in Lancaster 
County, of a Number of Indians, Friends of the 
Province, by Persons Unknown," he labored 
hard to bring the people to a true sense of the 
enormity of the crime. He told a plain, 
straightforward story of the first murder ; men- 



THE ''NARRATIVES 179 

tioned tlie names of the slaughtered Indians ; 
described their harmless character; gave a 
graphic picture of the second murder, and dwelt 
with deep contempt on the infamy of justifying 
such acts b}^ pretending they were sanctioned 
by a just God. He drew from the history of 
the Greeks, the Turks, the Moors, the Sara- 
cens, the African Negroes, the Six Nations, in- 
stances of how sacred these people held that 
right of hospitality the Paxtons had so shame- 
fully violated. He insisted that, even if the 
Indians were guilty of the offenses charged, 
they should have been punished by the courts, 
not butchered. 

And now the people and the assembly were 
torn by factions in which religion and politics 
were joined. The Presbyterians and the Epis- 
copalians openly approved the massacre, wrote 
in defense of it, and supported the action of 
the mob and of John Penn. The Quakers 
and the anti-proprietary party denounced the 
massacre, complained of the conduct of Penn 
in the matter of the supply bill, taxes, and the 
war, and warmly defended the Moravian Indi- 
ans. In the assembly the Quakers and their 
party were in the majority and determined to 
do what they had long been urged to do, — pe- 
tition the king to make Pennsylvania a royal 
colony. 



180 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

Accordingly, on the 25tli of Marcli, a com- 
mittee, with Franklin at their head, reported 
a series of resolutions censuring the proprieta- 
ries, describing their government as weak, as 
unable to uphold its authority or maintain in- 
ternal peace, and praying his majesty to re- 
sume the government of the province, after 
making such compensation to the Penns as was 
just. The assembly passed the resolutions, ad- 
journed to consult the people, and met again 
on May 14th. 

Each party made ready for the struggle. 
Not a day was lost, and by the 1st of April 
the few printers in the city were hard at work 
on pamphlets, broadsides, and caricatures. In 
the whole history of the province there had 
never been in so short a time such a number 
of pamphlets issued. Before September, one 
printer had upon his shelves fifteen, each bear- 
ing his imprint. The list of titles contains 
more than twenty. There were "A Brief State 
of the Province of Pennsylvania," " A True and 
Impartial State of Pennsylvania," and " The 
Plain Dealer," in three parts. "An Address 
to the Freeholders " replied to one number of 
" The Plain Dealer." The second number of 
"The Plain Dealer" replied to "Cool Thoughts 
on the Present Situation of our Public Affairs," 
and " Cool Thoughts " was the work of Frank- 



''COOL thoughts:' 181 

lin. He wrote it in great haste, dated it April 
12, 1764, and sent men about the city with 
copies to thrust under the doors, or toss through 
the open windows of dwelling-houses.^ 

Though done hastily, the work is done well. 
"With a coolness and an honesty found in no 
other tract, he reviews the cause of the dispute ; 
shows that all the proprietary governments, 
New Jersey, Maryland, Carolina, have suffered 
in the same way ; and refutes a number of ob- 
jections which he pretends have been made by 
" a friend in the country." 

The voters having been duly consulted, the 
assembly met on May 14th to find the speak- 
er's table white with petitions in favor of an 
address to the king. The debate was long ; but 
the two speeches that best set forth the views 
of each party were made by John Dickinson 
and Joseph Galloway. Dickinson spoke in be- 
half of proprietary government. Galloway 
replied, and was for a government by the king, 
and carried the day. The address was voted, 
and the assembly about to bid the speaker sign, 
when Isaac Norris, who held the chair, asked 
for time. He had, he reminded his hearers, 
been a member of the assembly for thirty years, 
and speaker for nearly fifteen. He could not 
support the address, and as he must as speaker 

1 Plain Dealer, No. 2, 



182 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

sign it, he hoped he might have time to pre- 
pare a statement of his objections. A short 
adjournment was made, and when the mem- 
bers reassembled, Norris resigned. He had 
been taken politically sick, sent word he was 
too ill to attend, and requested that another be 
chosen speaker in his stead. The choice fell 
on Franklin, who as speaker gladly signed the 
petition to the king, and the assembly rose. 

The next meeting was not to take place till 
October, before which the annual election was 
to be held. As a campaign document, Dickin- 
son at once published his speech, with a long 
preface by another hand. Thereupon Gallo- 
way's speech appeared, with a preface written 
by Franklin. Dickinson then protested that 
Galloway's speech had never been delivered. 
This brought out a broadside from Galloway, 
with certificates asserting that the speech had 
been delivered, and a scorching review entitled 
"The Maybe." The "Maybe" got its name 
from the " ifs " and " maybes " with which 
Dickinson's pamphlet abounded. 

When he wrote the " Preface to a Speech," 
Franklin unquestionably was thoroughly roused. 
The good-nature, the playful humor, the mod- 
est suggestions of his earlier pieces were aban- 
doned, and for sarcasm, energy, force of argu- 
ment, the Preface is unsurpassed. 



CARICATURES OF FRANKLIN. 183 

All this activity served to make him a butt 
for the wit of caricaturists and pamphleteers. 
In the corner of one of these singular produc- 
tions he is represented standing in his study, 
and underneath him are the lines : 

right dog, fight bear ! you're all my friends : 

By you I shall attain my ends, 

Tor I can never be content 

Till I have got the government. 

But if from this attempt I fall. 

Then let the Devil take you all ! 

In a second he holds in his hand a roll in- 
scribed " Resolved ye Prop'r a knave and ty- 
rant. N. C. D. Gov'r do." The preface to 
Dickinson's oration contained an epitaph for a 
monument to Penn, made up of fulsome ex- 
tracts from the votes of the assembly. Franklin 
in his Preface ridiculed it in a sketch, " in the 
lapidary style," of the sons of Penn, far from 
flattering, made up " mostly in the expressions 
and everywhere in the sense and spirit of the 
assembly's resolves and messages." For this 
he was himself made the subject of a lampoon 
epitaph in the lapidary style. This summary 
of his false learning, his political trimming, his 
treachery, his immorality, his thirst for power, 
forms a pamphlet of nine pages, and ends with 
the injunction: 



184 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

Reader, behold this striking Instance of 
Human Depravity and Ingratitude ; 
An irrefragable Proof 
That neither the Capital Services 
Of Friends, 
Nor the attracting Favours of the Fair, 
Can fix the Sincerity of a Man, 
Devoid of Principles and 
Ineffably mean : 
Whose Ambition is 
POWER, 
And whose intention is 
TYRANNY. 

"The Scribbler" replied to the "Epitaph," 
but was lost in the host of pamphlets which, 
under such names as " The Paxtoniade," " The 
Squabble," "The Farce," "The Paxton 
Raid," " The Cloven Foot Discovered," " King 
Wampum," " A Battle, a Battle, a Battle 
of Squirt," overwhelmed the anti-proprietary 
party with ridicule and abuse. For rancor, 
for that bitter hate which springs from reli- 
gious bigotry, for foulness both of language 
and of thought, the pamphlets named cannot 
be equalled. 

Everyone knew, as October came on, that the 
great contest would be in the city. At the head 
of the " old ticket " were Franklin and Gal- 
loway ; Willing and Bryan headed the " new." 
The Dutch Calvinists and the Presbyterians 
to a man supported the new ticket, and were 



THE ELECTION. 185 

joined by many of the Dutch Lutherans and 
Church-of-England men. The Moravians and 
the Quakers supported the old ticket, and drew 
some of the McClenaghanites to their side. 
Promptly at nine in the morning of October 
1st the poll was opened, but so great was 
the crowd that midnight was come before a 
voter could make his way from the end of the 
line to the polling - place in less than fifteen 
minutes. Towards three in the morning of 
the 2d the new-ticket men moved to close the 
poll ; but the old-ticket men would not, for they 
had in reserve numbers of aged and lame, who 
could not stand in the crowd. These they 
now quietly sent off to bring in, and the streets 
were soon lively with men being hurried along 
in chairs and litters to the voting-place. The 
new-ticket men, seeing this, began likewise to 
exert themselves, sent off horsemen to German- 
town, and secured so many voters that the polls 
did not close till three in the afternoon. It then 
took till the next day to count off the votes, 
which were in round numbers 3,900. When 
this was done, Franklin and Galloway were 
found to have been defeated. " Franklin," says 
one who saw the election, "died like a phi- 
losopher. But Mr. Galloway agonized in death 
like a mortal Deist who has no hopes of a 
future life." 



186 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 

During the election great numbers of squibs, 
half sheets and quarter sheets, in English and 
German, were scattered among the crowd. 
Some were general in their abuse ; some were 
aimed at Dickinson, some at Galloway, while 
some bore especially on Franklin. One squib 
put out by the new ticket is in verse, and ridi- 
culed the preface to Galloway's speech and the 
intentions of the Franklin party : 

Advertisement and not a joke, 

A speech there is which no man spoke ; 

This month or next, 'tis yet a doubt ; 

But when 'tis made it will come out, 

Midwif'd by Philosophic Paw, 

Tho' mother'd by a Man of Law. 

They strain'd so hard to do it clever. 

One harm'd his Neck bone, one his liver. 

They vow to get eternal fame, 

All things they '11 charge, yet keep the same : 

Thro' rocks and shelves our bark they '11 paddle, 

And fasten George in Will's old saddle ; 

Just as they please they '11 make him sit it, 

Unscrubbed, tho' Will, they say, ... it. 

For the first time in fourteen years Franklin 
now found himself without a seat in the assem- 
bly. But his friends in that body were many 
and stanch, and promptly presented his name 
as that of the man best fitted to assist Richard 
Jackson, the provincial agent, in presenting the 
petition to the king. Dickinson, who led the 
proprietary ranks, spent all his strength and 



DICKINSON ABUSES FRANKLIN. 187 

eloquence in opposition. He described Frank- 
lin as the most hated man in Pennsylvania. 
He declared such an appointment would inflame 
the resentments and embitter the discontents 
of the people. He called attention to the heap 
of remonstrances against such action that lay 
on the table, and demanded to know why the 
assembly should send to represent the colony 
the man most obnoxious to the people, a man 
who, after fourteen years of service, had just 
been turned out of the assembly. But the 
house understood that Dickinson was burning 
and longing for the place himself, and, by a vote 
of nineteen to eleven, chose Franklin an agent 
of the province. 

Not content with this defeat, the minority 
now protested, moved to have the protest spread 
upon the minutes, and again saw their motion 
voted down. Thereupon they published the 
protest in the newspapers, and were answered 
by Franklin in a little pamphlet entitled " Re- 
marks on a Protest." Two days later he set 
out for London. But scarcely had the ship put 
out to sea when " An Answer to Mr. Franklin's 
Remarks on a Late Protest " appeared, and his 
friend John Hughes took up his cause. Hughes 
proposed that, once for all, the charges against 
Franklin should be proved true or false, and 
offered to give five pounds to the hospital for 



188 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

each charge proven true, if some man of char- 
acter would give a like sum to the hospital for 
each charge shown to be false. But neither 
Dickinson nor any of his friends replied. 

" Thus," wrote Israel Pemberton the liber- 
tine, the King Wampum of the caricatures, 
" thus Benjamin Franklin is again employed 
in another negotiation. It is alleged by those 
who have urged it most that his knowledge and 
interest will do great service to ye colonies by 
obtaining some alleviation of those inconven- 
iences we are subjected to by some late acts of 
Parliament, and of prevention of others with 
which we are threatened. His dependence on 
ye ministry for ye Posts he and his son hold 
forbids my expectation of his opposing their 
measures with much spirit ; and some of us, who 
know his fixed aversion to ye Proprietaries and 
their governor, are not without apprehensions, 
if he can recommend himself by an immediate 
change of it, that he will soon attempt it." ... 



CHAPTER VII. 

1764-1776. 

On the evening of the 10th of December, 
1764, Franklin reached London. As one of 
the agents from Pennsylvania, his duty was to 
present the petition with all the speed he 
could. But he found the three colonial agents 
striving to prevent the introduction of the 
stamp act, and joined heartily with them. 

From the time the colonies were strong 
enough and rich enough to furnish men and 
money to the royal cause, such supplies had 
always been obtained by requisition. The 
requisition was a circular letter from the Crown 
to the governors, was transmitted by the gov- 
ernors to the assemblies, made known the wants 
of the king, bade the assemblies take these 
wants into serious consideration, and expressed 
a firm reliance on the prudence, duty, and 
affection of loyal subjects to vote such sums of 
money and enlist such bodies of men as the 
king needed. To this no objection was ever 
made. The king obtained the money, and the 



190 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

people raised it by taxes their chosen represen- 
tatives imposed. 

But now, on a sudden, the British ministry 
determined to change the plan. Henceforth 
parliament was to lay internal taxes ; and the 
taxes they proposed to lay and did lay, were 
fifty-four in n amber, and comprised the stamp 
act. It is commonly believed that this famous 
tax was the first of its kind known in Amer- 
ica. But this is a mistake, for twice had 
stamp taxes been willingly laid and willingly 
borne, and, when they expired, as willingly re- 
newed. The first was imposed for one year by 
Massachusetts in 1755, and re enacted in 1756. 
The other was passed by New York in De- 
cember, 1756. It ran for one year, was re- 
newed in 1757 for another year, and created 
neither discontent nor opposition. Against 
I stamp duties. New York and Massachusetts 
could therefore make no complaint. It was 
against stamp duties laid without consent of the 
colonies that the four London agents protested 
vigorously on the 2d of February, 1765. Gren- 
ville admitted them to audience, listened pa- 
tiently to the old plea, no taxation without 
representation, and dismissed them, as firmly 
convinced of the wisdom of his plan as ever. 
On the 22d of March parliament passed the 
act. In May news of the passage reached Amer- 



THE STAMP ACT. 191 

ica, and it was soon known in Philadelphia that 
John Hughes, the man who had so stoutly de- 
fended the good name of Franklin, was stamp 
distributer for Pennsylvania. 

Shortly after the passage of the act, Gren- 
ville sent for the colonial agents, and, through 
the secretary, invited each to name a proper 
person to act as stamp-agent in America. They 
complied, and Franklin named his old friend 
John Hughes. The conduct of Franklin in 
this affair exhibits strange ignorance of the 
temper of his countrymen. That there would 
be grumblings, complainings, and threatenings 
he was fully aware. That there would be open 
defiance and mob violence seems never to have 
entered his mind. He looked upon the stamp 
tax as established, and supposing no opposition 
would be made, he shrewdly determined to se- 
cure from it all the benefit he could. To one 
friend he wrote : " Depend upon ifc, my good 
neighbor, I took every step in my power to 
prevent the passage of the stamp act ; nobody 
could be more concerned in interest than my- 
self to oppose it, sincerely and heartily. But 
the tide was too strong for us. The nation 
was provoked by American claims of indepen- 
dence, and all parties joined in resolving by 
this act to settle the point. We might as well 
have hindered the sun's setting. That we could 



192 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

not do. But since 't is down, my friend, and it 
may be long before it rises again, let us make 
as good a night of it as we can. We may still 
light candles. Frugality and Industry will go 
a great way towards indemnifying us. Idleness 
and Pride tax with a heavier hand than kings 
and parliaments. If we can get rid of the 
former we may easily bear the latter." Act- 
ing on his own advice, he now attempted to 
make a good night of it, and sent over a quan- 
tity of unstamped paper to his partner, David 
Hall, for assurances had been given that the 
paper could be stamped in America. Had this 
been allowed, the profit to the firm would have 
been considerable. But it was not allowed, 
and the paper went back to England to be 
stamped, at great cost to Franklin.^ 

1 His letter regarding it bears date August 9th, 1765. 
** I receiv'd yours of June 21 and 22. I have wrote nay- 
Mind fully to you in former Letters, relating to the Stamp 
Act, so that I have but little to add except what you desire to 
know about the 2/ on Advertisements. It is undoubtedly to 
be paid every Time the Advertisement is inserted. As to the 
paper sent over, I did it for the best, having at that time 
Expectations given me that we might have had it Stamped 
there, in which case you would have had great advantage 
over the other Printers, since if they were not provided with 
such Paper, they must have either printed but a half sheet 
Common Demi, or paid for two Stamps on each sheet. The 
Plan was afterwards altered notwithstanding all I could 
do. . . . 

" I would not have you by any means drop the newspaper, 



FEELING AGAINST HUGHES. 193 

In July, 1765, the Grenville ministry fell 
from power. News of the change was brought 
to Philadelphia one Sunday in September. The 
people could scarcely wait till Monday to ex- 
press their joy. The stamp act, they felt con- 
fident, was doomed ; and all of Monday was 
passed in bell-ringing, cannonading, building 
bonfires, and drinking toasts. Hughes was 
burned in effigy, and, for a time, it seemed 
likely that his house would be pulled down. 
But all this rejoicing was premature. The 
new ministers were as determined to tax Amer- 
ica as the old, and the stamp act was not re- 
pealed. Then came the associations of mer- 
chants and tradesmen pledged to encourage 
the growth of wool, to eat no lamb, to wear 
homespun, to import no goods of English make, 
and to have no dealings with any man who did. 
Hughes was remonstrated with, threatened, 
urged to follow the example of the stamp 
agents in other colonies and resign. But he 
would not, and was expelled from the Hand- 
in-hand fire company, and denounced as the 
enemy of America. So high did the feeling 
against him run, that, in September, Galloway 
wrote to Franklin that " eight hundred of the 

as I am sure it will soon recover any present loss, and may be 
carried on to advantage if you steadily proceed as I proposed 
in former letters." 



194 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

sober inhabitants assembled quietly at the in- 
stance of Mr. Hughes' friends, and were posted 
in several parts of the city ready to prevent any 
mischief should that be attempted by the mob." 
Nor did Franklin escape. Seeing their oppor- 
tunity, in the excitement of the moment the 
leaders of the Dickinson party assured the 
people that Franklin was worse than Hughes. 
John Hughes was the open and avowed enemy 
of his country : but Franklin was an enemy 
disguised as a friend. With a commission as 
agent of Pennsylvania in his pocket, he had 
done his best to have the stamp act passed, and 
he had done so lest he should lose his place 
in the post-office. The people believed these 
charges, and, as Franklin was beyond their 
reach, made threats against his property and 
his wife. Mrs. Franklin wrote her husband 
that for nine days she had been beset by people 
to quit her home, and hurry with her daughter 
to Burlington ; that " Cousin Davenport " had 
come with his gun to defend her ; that she had 
sent for her brother : and that, while the men 
turned a room downstairs into a magazine, she 
ordered such defense to be made upstairs as a 
woman could manage. She was not molested, 
and the proprietary party was content with vili- 
fying Franklin in pamphlets and coarse prints. 
One caricature shows him with the Devil whis- 



FEELING AGAINST FRANKLIN. 195 

pering in his ear. From the mouth of Satan 
come the words, " Thee shall be agent, Ben, for 
all my dominions ; " while beneath the figures 
are the lines : — 

" All his designs concenter in himself, 1 

For building castles and amassing pelf. ' 

The public 't is his wit to sell for gain, 
Whom private property did ne'er maintain." 

From James Biddle came an address to the 
electors and freeholders of the Province of 
Pennsylvania, denouncing Franklin and calling 
on the voters not to send to the assembly men 
who would help him at London. 

Hughes wrote his old friend that a spirit of 
rebellion was all aflame ; that a strange frenzy 
had seized the people; that not a day went 
over his head but he was called on to resign, 
and told to his face that he was an enemy of 
North. America. Yet he could not resign under 
a threat. The people must do some act of vio- 
lence. And when violence was once afloat he 
might himself fall a victim. This seemed un- 
likely, however, for Cox, stamp collector for 
New Jersey, having resigned, Hughes in the 
same letter begs to have his son Hugh put in 
Cox's place. 

The day on which the stamp act was to go 
into force was November 1, 1765 ; but it was 
not till October that the stamped paper began 



196 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

to arrive at Philadelpliia. On Saturday, the 
fifth, of that montli, the ship Royal Charlotte, 
bearing the paper for New Jersey, Pennsyl- 
vania, and Maryland, was seen coming round 
Gloucester Point. Instantly every American 
ship at the port ran up a flag to half-mast ; 
the bells were muffled and tolled, and a new 
demand was made on Hughes to resign. He 
did finally give something which was construed 
to be a written promise not to serve. As the 
1st of November approached, the newspapers 
were black with inverted column rules, cofiins, 
death's - heads, and obituary notices. The 
" Pennsylvania Journal," a weekly paper, sus- 
pended one issue ^ and then went on regularly 
as before. The "' Gazette," still owned by 
Franklin & Hall, did not suspend. On Novem- 
ber 7, the day for the first issue of the " Ga- 
zette " after the stamp act became law, a half 
sheet was published, printed on one side, with- 
out any heading, and in its place the words 
" No Stamp Paper to be had." The paper for 
the next week was likewise without the custom- 
ary heading and was called " Remarkable Oc- 
currences." Thenceforth the old name was used. 
So determined were the people not to pay the 
hateful tax that legal documents of every kind 
ceased to be drawn, and the public offices were 

1 No. 1196. November 7. 1765. 



EFFECT OF THE STAMP ACT. 197 

closed from November, 1765, till May, 1766. 
During these six months, every scrap of stamped 
paper that was heard of was hunted up, carried 
to the coffee-house, and burned. Now it was 
a Barbadoes newspaper brought to Philadel- 
phia by the captain of some ship, now a bill of 
lading, now a Mediterranean pass. Women of 
fashion had long abandoned spinning and knit- 
ting to their house-maids. But they were now 
taken up and once again became the mode. 
To be clothed in fabrics of colonial make was 
a mark of patriotism, and the demand for such 
fabrics became so great that one man opened 
a market for home-manufactured goods, while 
another set up in his house a number of looms 
and made thread and cotton stockings. It 
would have been the ruination of any butcher to 
have displayed on his stall the carcass of a lamb. 
The effect of this conduct was speedy. Not 
a merchant, not a manufacturer in the mother 
country, engaged in the colonial trade, but 
found his American orders canceled and his 
goods left on his hands. Scarce a ship returned 
from Boston or Philadelphia without English 
wares for which there was no sale. Then came 
up from Bristol, from Liverpool, from Manches- 
ter, a cry of distress so piercing that parliament 
was forced to hear it. Parliament met in De- 
cember, 1765, and for six weeks merchants, 



198 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

manufacturers, traders, ship-captains, officers of 
the revenue, of the army, men who had lived in 
America or were connected with America by 
interest or by commerce, were called before the 
commons to give testimony at the bar of the 
committee of the whole house. With them 
went Franklin, whose examination on the 2d of 
February has become historic. Twenty days 
later the repeal of the Stamp Act was carried, 
as Walpole declares Lord Rockingham boasted, 
against king, queen, princess dowager, Duke of 
York, Lord Bute, the Tories, the Scotch, and 
the opposition. 

The part Franklin bore in promoting the 
repeal did but little towards restoring bim to 
favor. Carried away by joy, his townsmen did 
indeed drink a toast, on the king's birthday, to 
" our worthy and faithful agent. Dr. Franklin." 
They did indeed sing a song of which a stanza 
was devoted to his praise, and call a barge 
which graced the procession by his name. But 
when the October election came round, he was 
lampooned more savagely than ever. " A tame 
sort of opposition his was surely," exclaimed 
one writer, " being made, no doubt, in the fol- 
lowing strain : ' My Lords, it does not become 
me who hold an office by your indulgence to 
present any remonstrance that may be offen- 
sive to you. My constituents have intrusted 



ABUSE OF FRANKLIN. 199 

such a remonstrance with me against the Stamp 
Act. Bat after all you will do what you please, 
and if it is to be passed, I have a friend, one 
John Hughes, who is a bold man, and now 
fighting my battles. He will be the fittest per- 
son to execute this law, however disagreeable to 
the people.' This is the plain English of all the 
opposition which it has been ever pretended Mr. 
Franklin made to the Stamp Act." " Think," 
exclaimed the writer of another address to the 
voters, "let me entreat you to think what 
opinions our sister colonies must form of that 
man and this province should she embrace, with 
the most ardent affection, a native of America 
who has aimed a poisoned dagger at the breast 
of his parent country. Must not all British 
America be convinced that the stamp act was 
agreeable to us, when they see us advance to a 
post of the most important trust that very man 
who has most distinguished himself by pleading 
for it? Defend it from the charge of employing 
and honoring an instrument whose name is now 
flying on the wings of contempt, detestation, 
and abhorrence from one end of the continent 
to the other." The " Pennsylvania Journal " 
declared he was chiefly responsible for the 
stamp act. He had mentioned it to Braddock 
in 1755. He had proposed it to Lord Bute in 
1759, and had seen it planned before leaving 



200 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

England in 1761. His purpose in coming 
home was to foment dispute with the governor, 
raise a cry for a change of government, and be 
sent back to finish his plan. His plan was to 
have Pennsylvania made a royal colony and 
himself made royal governor. But the office of 
governor was to be his reward for planning and 
sustaining the stamp act. When, therefore, the 
act passed, in order to have it faithfully ex- 
ecuted he named John Hughes distributer for 
Pennsylvania and Delaware. While, therefore, 
other colonial agents who were not to get favor 
from the king were waiting on the ministers, 
exciting the London merchants, and contriving 
to have petitions for repeal sent up from all 
the manufacturing towns, Franklin remained a 
quiet spectator. When, therefore, the com- 
mittee of Bristol merchants visited him with 
their petition in their hand, he was so reserved 
and uncivil that they left him in disgust. 
While the pens of other men were busy de- 
nouncing the stamp act and defending the 
American cause, he had not written one line. 

That Franklin had done nothing for the good 
of the cause was false. That he had written 
nothing was almost true, for he had sent to the 
press but one short article. During the early 
months of 1765 the London press had displayed 
its usual ignorance of colonial affairs, and had 



ENGLISH IGNORANCE OF AMERICA. 201 

been full of all manner of contradictory state- 
ments. At one moment it was said that the 
Americans were about to establish manufac- 
tories and ruin the mother country ; and at the 
next, that there was nothing that the Amer- 
icans could manufacture. Their sheep were 
first described as the finest in the world; and 
then as few and the poorest in the world. 
When a few dozens of such statements had ap- 
peared in print, some friend to America ven- 
tured to call their makers to account, and was 
himself reproved by Franklin in a short piece 
which amused the coffee-houses for a month. 
Readers who pretended to know, he wrote, ob- 
jected, that setting up manufactories by the 
Americans was not only improbable but impos- 
sible; that labor was so dear that iron could not 
be worked with profit ; that wool was so scarce 
that enough could not be had to make each in- 
habitant one pair of stockings a year. But no 
one surely would be deceived by such ground- 
less objections. Did not every one know that 
the very tails of American sheep were so laden 
with wool that each had a little wagon on four 
little wheels to support and keep it from drag- 
ging on the ground? Would the Americans 
calk their ships and litter their horses with 
wool if it were not plenty and cheap ? Could 
labor be dear where one English shilling passed 



202 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

for twenty - five ? Some incredulous people 
might declare the story of three hundred silk 
throwsters being engaged at London, in one 
week, to go to New York was a fable, and pro- 
test there was no silk in America to throw. 
But let them know that agents from the Em- 
peror of China had been at Boston treating 
about the exchange of raw silk for wool to be 
carried in Chinese junks through the Straits of 
Magellan. This was certainly as true as the 
news from Quebec that the inhabitants of Can- 
ada were making ready for a cod and whale 
fishery in the Upper Lakes. Here again igno- 
rant people might object that the LTpper Lakes 
were bodies of fresh water, and that cod and 
whale were fish never caught but in water that 
was salt. But let these people know that cod, 
when attacked, fly into any water where they 
can be safest; that whales when they have a 
mind to eat cod, follow them wherever they 
fly ; and that the grand leap of the whale in 
the chase up the falls of Niagara is esteemed, 
by all who have seen it, as one of the finest 
spectacles in nature. 

This manner of treating grave matters in a 
humorous way is characteristic of Franklin's 
best writings ; and he never overwhelmed his 
adversaries so completely as when he met their 
ignorance, stupidity, and folly with his good- 



THE ''RULES'' AND THE ''EDICT:' 203 

natured wit. Two contributions to the news- 
papers in 1773 are cases in point. The crisis 
in the quarrel with Great Britain had then 
been reached. The long list of infamous acts 
summed up in the Declaration of Independence 
had almost been completed. The Townshend 
revenue act had been laid and in part re- 
pealed ; Gage had taken possession of Boston ; 
the " Liberty " had been seized ; the " Gaspee " 
had been burned ; citizens of Boston had been 
shot down in the streets ; legislatures had been 
summoned to meet at places unusual, uncom- 
fortable, far from the depositories of public rec- 
ords ; and the tea flung into Boston harbor. 
Enraged at the just resistance of the colonies, 
the whole Tory press of England put up a 
shout for vengeance. The Americans seemed 
to have scarcely a friend left, when two short 
pieces in defense of them were printed in the 
" Public Advertiser." These pieces, as Franklin 
declared, were designed to set forth the con- 
duct of England "towards the colonies in a 
short, comprehensive, and striking view," and 
to make the view more striking were given un- 
common titles and drawn up in unusual forms. 
To one he gave the name " Rules for reducing 
a great empire to a small one." The other 
he called " An Edict of the King of Prussia." 
The Rules were twenty in number, were ad- 



204 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

dressed to all ministers charged with tlie man- 
agement of domains so extensive as to be 
troublesome to govern, and prescribed, as the 
best way of reducing such empires, precisely 
the line of conduct Great Britain had taken 
with America. 

In the Edict the King of Prussia was made 
to assume the same attitude towards Great 
Britain that George III. had assumed toward 
America. All the world knew, the Edict 
stated, that the island of Britain was a colony 
of Prussia ; that the first settlements had been 
made by men drawn out from Germany by 
Hengist and Horsa, Hella and Uffa, Cerdicus 
and Ida; that the colony had flourished for 
ages under Prussian protection, had been de- 
fended by Prussia in the late war with France, 
and had never been emancipated from Prussian 
control. As descendants of the ancient Germans, 
they were still subjects of the Prussian crown, 
and, as dutiful subjects, were bound to help re- 
plenish the coffers exhausted in their defense. 
On them, therefore, were laid every tax, every 
duty, every commercial restriction, every man- 
ufacturing hindrance imposed by Great Britain 
on her colonies. Englishmen were forbidden 
to dig iron, to make steel, to put up rolling- 
mills, to raise wool unless for manure, to make 
a hat, or to complain when, for the better 



WRITINGS FROM 1765-1773. 205 

peopling of the country, thieves, highwaymen, 
forgers, and murderers, men of every sort who 
had forfeited their lives in Prussia, were taken 
from the jails and sent to Great Britain. 

The success of the two pieces was immense. 
The number of the " Advertiser " containing the 
Edict went off so quickly that not a copy of it 
could be had the next day in London. The 
Rules were copied by the " Gentlemen's Maga- 
zine," by almost every London newspaper, and 
finally, some weeks later, were reprinted in the 
" Public Advertiser " " in compliance with the 
earnest request of many private persons and 
some respectable societies." 

With these exceptions Franklin wrote noth- 
ing from 1765 to 1773 that is worthy of more 
than notice. Under the signatures F. B., F-|- 
S, and N. W. ; Pacificus, Homespun, Benevo- 
lus. Daylight, Twilight, New Englander, A 
Friend to Both Countries, and Frances Lyn, he 
published twenty-three short pieces on Amer- 
ican affairs in the London newspapers. He 
wrote a preface to the London edition of the 
'' Farmer's Letters," and an answer to the " Re- 
port of the Lords Committee of Trade and 
Plantations on the Walpole Grant " ; repub- 
lished '' The Votes and Proceedings, on No- 
vember 20, 1772, of the freeholders and other 
inhabitants of the Town of Boston " with a 



206 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

short preface, and, under the signature of A 
Friend to the Poor, showed the folly of a pro- 
posed act of parliament for preventing emigra- 
tion to America. 

In 1767, Franklin in company with his 
" steady good friend Sir John Pringle " set out 
for France. They left London in August, rode 
post to Dover, and there began that journey so 
pleasantly described in the letter to Miss Ste- 
venson. The French minister Durand had 
given to Franklin a bundle of letters to " the 
Lord knows who." But he needed them not, 
for his fame had long preceded him, and men of 
all pursuits made haste to bid him welcome. To 
him came first D'Alibard, who had repeated 
his experiments before the king ; and then the 
members of the little sect of " Economists." 

The Economists professed a deep love of 
rural economy and agriculture, and met every 
Tuesday in a fine salon in the house of the 
Marquise de Mirabeau. There, after an ex- 
cellent dinner, they would laud the happiness 
of a farmer's life, and, in imagination, chop 
down whole forests, drain great bogs, and turn 
every barren waste of France into a blooming 
garden. 

Franklin seems to have known them all. 
But with two, M. Dupont de Nemours and 
M. Jacques Barbeu-Dubourg, he formed a 



ENGLISH EDITION OF HIS WRITINGS. 207 

life-long friendship. Of Dubourg he was espe- 
cially fond, and when he again visited France 
for a few weeks, in 1769, persuaded the French- 
man to take charge of the translation and pub- 
lication of his works. 

Though his letters and essays were well 
known and generally read, they were never, till 
1769, gathered into the form of a book. But 
in that year a one-vokime quarto edition of 
what were called his Works was issued at Lon- 
don, and quickly went through four small edi- 
tions. It was this collection that Dubourg con- 
sented to translate. To a general reader the 
contents must have been of little interest, for 
the '' Way to Wealth " was not there, nor the 
" Advice to a Young Tradesman," nor any of 
the moral and political essays that won him 
such fame at home. The whole collection was 
made up of letters on electricity, physics, and 
science in general. The labor of translation 
was given to M. Lesquis ; but the labor of 
correcting and revising was left with Dubourg. 
The language of Franklin was the plainest 
English, and seems, at times, to have sorely 
puzzled translator and editor alike. Now they 
cannot find a term for " orreries," and Dubourg 
in a letter to Franklin begs to know if it may 
be rendered " cadrans ; " now he does not 
know what "jostled" means; again he is at 



208 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

a loss for terms to express the meanings of 
" surf " and '' spray." But at last all diffi- 
culty was overcome, and " CEuvres de M. Frank- 
lin, Docteur es loix, traduites de I'anglois sur 
la quatri^me edition. Par M. Barbeu-Dubourg, 
avec des additions nouvelles et des figures en 
taille douce," came out at Paris in 1773. 

To tbe contents of the London edition Du- 
bourg added some letters written between 1769 
and 1773, and the "Way to Wealth," under 
the title " Le Moyen de s'Enricher, Enseigne 
clairement dans la Preface d'un Vieil Alma- 
nach de Pennsylvanie, intitule Le Pauvre 
Henri a son aise." 

While his friends at Paris were reading the 
letters translated by Dubourg, his countrymen 
in America were reading with far greater in- 
terest another collection of letters for which 
they were also indebted to Franklin. 

One day towards the close of 1772, Franklin 
was lamenting to a member of parliament the 
harsh treatment of Boston. The quartering of 
the troops especially excited him. The measure 
he thought would only make matters worse. 
In America the people would think it the act 
of the English nation, while it was merely a 
ministerial expedient. Tumults would follow, 
and the English people, misled by what the 
newspapers stated, would declare the Ameri- 



HUTCHINSON LETTERS. 209 

cans factious and disloyal. The member of 
parliament assured him that he was mistaken ; 
that quartering troops on the citizens of Bos- 
ton had not been suggested by the ministry, 
nor by any man in England ; that it was, in 
truth, the work of the Bostonians themselves; 
promised to make good the statements, and in a 
few days left a bundle of letters in Franklin's 
hands. The addresses had been carefully re- 
moved, but the signatures were there, and he 
was assured they had been written to William 
Whately, then dead. In life, Whately had been 
a member of parliament, secretary to the lords 
of the treasury, under-secretary of state, direc- 
tor of the royal progress, a creature of George 
Grenville, and a receptacle into which was 
poured all sort of information that could not 
well be sent direct to his master. It was in 
this capacity that Whately received the thir- 
teen letters brought to Franklin. Six were 
from Thomas Hutchinson, a native of Massa- 
chusetts, once lieutenant-governor and then gov- 
ernor of the province. Four were from Andrew 
Oliver, likewise a native and lieutenant-gov- 
ernor of Massachusetts. The others were from 
Robert Auchmuty, Charles Paxton, and Na- 
thaniel Rogers, men of small note. 

Hutchinson and Oliver narrated the events at 
Boston from June to December, 1768, described 



210 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

the people as factious and wicked, recommended 
that the liberties of the province be greatly 
lessened, that the governor be made indepen- 
dent of the assembly, that a provincial aristoc- 
racy be set up, and that the officers who served 
the crown be "effectually supported." 

Franklin asked leave to copy the letters. 
This was refused ; but leave was given to send 
them to America, and they were soon on the 
way to Thomas Gushing, chairman of the com- 
mittee of correspondence of the Massachusetts 
assembly. Gushing was charged not to have 
them copied or put in print, but to keep them 
a few months, show them to whom he pleased, 
and send them back to England. By him they 
were shown to the foremost men of Boston; 
and given to John Adams, who carried them on 
his circuit and showed them to the chief men 
of Massachusetts. When the general court met 
they were read, with closed doors, to an amazed 
assembly. The assembly petitioned the king 
to remove both Hutchinson and Oliver, and the 
letters at once appeared in print. Gopies of 
the pamphlet went over to England, where the 
letters were published in the London journals, 
to the astonishment of the Tory party. How 
the Americans got them no one knew. The 
public suspected Thomas Whately, who owned 
the papers his brother left. Whately suspected 



HUTCHINSON LETTERS. 211 

John Temple, once lieutenant-governor of New 
Hampshire, who had by permission taken from 
the papers of William Whately letters of his 
own. A duel followed, in which Ralph Izard 
and Arthur Lee acted somewhat as seconds. 
Whately was wounded. The duel became the 
talk of the town; and a second meeting was 
threatened, when Franklin, to prevent further 
mischief, explained. Through the " Public 
Advertiser" of Christmas Day, 1773, he as- 
sured the public that the letters had never at 
any time been in the hands of Mr. Whately, 
that they could not therefore have been taken 
from him by Mr. Temple, and that neither of 
them was in any way concerned in sending the 
letters to America, as he alone obtained and sent 
them to Boston. This he was justified in doing 
because they were not private letters between 
friends, but were written on public matters by 
public men holding public offices, were intended 
to bring about public measures, and had been 
handed about among other public men to lead 
them to favor such measures. Their purpose 
was to enrage the mother country against her 
colonies, to widen the breach already existing, 
and this they had done. 

The ministry saw in this confession a fine 
opportunity and made haste to use it. Thomas 
Whately was a government banker, and made 



212 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

some money by paying pensions for the crown. 
He was now forced to bring suit against Frank- 
lin for the recovery of the profits said to have 
been made by the sale of his brother's letters. 
The petition for the removal of Hutchinson and 
Oliver had long been lying, forgotten, in the 
archives of the Lords of Trade. This was at 
once taken up, and Franklin was soon before 
the privy council to answer with regard to the 
same. It was then the usage for the council 
to meet in one of the rooms of a building which 
passed by the name of the Cockpit. Around 
the fire, and down the sides of the long table, 
had often been gathered many famous men. 
But it may well be doubted whether the room 
had ever held a company quite so distinguished 
as that assembled to hear the agent of the 
colony of the Massachusetts Bay insulted, 
browbeaten, maligned, and defamed. In that 
room had been done many acts shameful alike 
to the English government and to Englishmen. 
But none went down to such a depth of infamy 
as that perpetrated on that day on our illus- 
trious countryman. 

An idle story is still passing current that 
Franklin in time had his revenge, and that, 
when about to sign the treaty of peace in 1783, 
he quit the room to put on the very suit he 
wore when Wedderburn abused him before the 



FRANKLIN DENOUNCED IN ENGLAND. 213 

privy council. The story is untrue and was 
disproved, long before Franklin died, by the 
published statements of one of the secretaries 
present at the signing. 

The petition of Massachusetts was declared 
to be scandalous and seditious by the privy 
council, and was not granted. Franklin lost 
his place in the post-office, and wrote in de- 
fense of his behavior a pamphlet called '' An 
Account of the Transactions relating to Gov- 
ernor Hutchinson's Letters." And now par- 
liament passed the Boston Port Bill, the Mas- 
sachusetts Bill, the Transportation Bill, the 
Quebec Act. Then came the first continental 
congress, and the revolution opened in earnest. 
As the news of each act of resistance came 
over to London, the position of Franklin grew 
daily more dangerous and unpleasant. The 
whole Tory press set upon him. He ought to 
be put under arrest. He was the fomenter of 
all the colonial troubles. He was an arch- 
traitor, an ungrateful wretch. Was ever an 
unworthy subject, it was asked, so loaded with 
benefits by a gracious king ? Had he not been 
made a postmaster-general? Had not his son 
been made a governor? Had he not been of- 
fered a rich place in the salt-office for himself? 
And what return did he make? With the 
royal commission in his pocket he had incited 



214 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

his country to rebellion and bloodshed. Johnson 
called him the master of mischief, who taught 
congress " to put in motion the engine of elec- 
tricity, and give the great stroke by the name 
of Boston." At home the Tory governor sought 
to deprive him of his pay as agent. The press 
told the people that he had sold his country for 
places, and they believed it. For a time his 
work seemed ended. He shunned the court, 
went no longer to the levees of the ministers, 
and kept away from the office of Lord Dart- 
mouth. Indeed, he was about to come home, 
when news that congress was to meet detained 
him. While he tarried he wrote a few more 
essays for the " Public Advertiser," helped Ar- 
thur Lee in the preparation of his " True state 
of the proceedings in the parliament of Great 
Britain and in the province of Massachusetts 
Bay, relative to the giving and granting the 
money of the people of that province and of all 
America, in the house of commons in which 
they are not represented," and delivered to 
Lord Dartmouth the famous Declaration of 
Rights. This done, he set sail on the 21st of 
March, 1775, for Philadelphia ; landed on the 
5th of May, heard with amazement of the fight 
at Concord and Lexington, and was the next 
day welcomed home in an ode. 

He had been abroad ten years and six months. 



DEATH OF MRS. FRANKLIN. 215 

and, as lie looked aboat him, lie could not but 
notice the many and great changes that had 
taken place. Old friends were gone. New 
faces met him on every street. The growth of 
the city, the spirit, the prosperity of the people, 
amazed him. But the greatest of all changes 
was in his own family and in his own home. 
The house to which he came and which he called 
his home, though built nine years, he had never 
seen. Politics were fast estranging his son. 
His daughter was married. His wife was dead. 
Her maiden name was Deborah Read. The 
story of her life is well known to every one who 
has read the Autobiography ; how Franklin first 
saw her on the memorable Sunday morning 
when he walked the streets of Philadelphia in 
search of a place to lay his head ; how he courted 
her ; how he deserted her ; how he came back 
from his first trip to London to find her married 
to another ; how her husband in turn deserted 
her ; how, with many misgivings, Franklin then 
took her to wife, and how she brought home 
and reared his illegitimate son. By her Frank- 
lin had two children : a son who died in infancy, 
and a daughter who married Richard Bache 
and became the mother of Benjamin Franklin 
Bache, the famous editor of the " Aurora," the 
bitter hater of Washington, and, under Jeffer- 
son, the founder of the Democratic-Republican 



216 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

party. This daughter he found presiding over 
his house ; but his stay with her was short. The 
Continental Congress was soon to meet, and he 
was on the day after his landing chosen a mem- 
ber with James Wilson and Thomas Willing. 

And now the members began to come in fast. 
On the 9th of May the Charleston packet 
brought the delegates from South Carolina. 
May 10th, every citizen that could procure a 
horse rode out to welcome the delegates from 
Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Car- 
olina, who came in a body. May 11th, the 
members from New England, New York, and 
New Jersey rode into town, and learned that 
the continental congress had begun its famous 
session the day before. Of that glorious con- 
gress Franklin was a member fourteen months. 
During that time he was made Postmaster-Gen- 
eral of the United States, was on the commit- 
tees to frame a second petition to the king ; to 
find out the sources of saltpetre ; to negotiate 
with the Indians ; to engrave and print the 
continental money ; to consider the resolution 
of Lord North ; to devise a plan for regulating 
commerce ; to obtain supplies of salt and lead ; 
to establish the post-office ; and, when Wash- 
ington assumed command, to draw up a decla- 
ration to be issued by the commander of the 
army. For work of this kind he was wholly 



FRANKLIN SENT TO FRANCE. 217 

unfit, and in place of a grave and dignified 
document, he produced a paper that began with 
idle charges and ended with a jest. Congress 
most happily never saw the draft and soon em- 
ployed him in a better way, sent him first on 
a mission to Washington at Cambridge, and 
then on a mission to Arnold at Quebec ; named 
him, after the disastrous battle on Long Island, 
one of three congressmen to confer with Lord 
Howe; and a little later dispatched him to join 
Arthur Lee and Silas Deane in France. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

1776-1790. 

The history of the mission of Franklin to 
the court of France begins on a November 
morning, 1776, when a stranger, short, lame, 
and speaking but little English, made his ap- 
pearance at Philadelphia. He put up at one 
of the inns, and sent off a message to the con- 
gress, of which the substance was that he had 
something pressing and important to communi- 
cate. No heed was given, for he was thought 
to be of weak mind. But he persisted, and 
wrote again and again so earnestly, that Jef- 
ferson, Jay, and Franklin were appointed to 
hear what he bad to say. They met him in 
one of the rooms in the Carpenters' Hall, and 
were told that whatever they wanted, arms, 
ammunition, money, ships, would gladly be sup- 
plied by France. When the committee asked 
for his name and credentials, the stranger 
smiled, drew his hand across his throat, said he 
knew how to take care of his head, bowed him- 
self out, and was never seen again. The com- 



THE FRENCH MISSION. 219 

mittee, nevertheless, were deeply impressed by 
what they heard, and had no trouble in persuad- 
ing congress to name a committee to correspond 
" with friends in Great Britain, Ireland, and 
other parts of the world." The committee were 
active, and letters were soon on their way to 
Professor Dumas at the Hague, to Arthur Lee 
at London, and to Franklin's old friend Du- 
bourg. Thomas Story was sent to London, 
Silas Deane was dispatched to France, and M. 
Penet, a merchant of Nantes, went back home 
with a contract in his pocket for gunpowder, 
guns and supplies. 

The months now dragged slowly on with- 
out a word from any agent. Winter length- 
ened into spring, the spring gave way to sum- 
mer, and the summer was spent before a long 
letter from Dubourg reached Franklin. So full 
was it of the most comfortable assurances of 
help from France that congress lost no time 
in choosing Franklin, Jefferson, and Deane 
to make a treaty with that power. Jefferson 
would not serve, and in an evil hour Arthur 
Lee was chosen in his stead. 

The choice was made on the 26th of Sep- 
tember. One month later to a day Franklin 
boarded the Reprisal and sailed for France. 
The passage was stormy and the sea covered 
with English cruisers. More than once the 



220 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

Reprisal was hotly chased. More than once 
Captain Wickes beat to quarters and made 
ready to fight. But he reached the coast of 
France in safety early in December, and dropped 
anchor in Quiberon Bay not far from the 
mouth of the Loire. There he was kept by 
contrary winds for four days, when Franklin, 
weary with waiting, landed at Auray and went 
on to Nantes. 

At Nantes he was welcomed with every man- 
ifestation of delight, and he stayed there eight 
days. A story is extant that when Lord Stor- 
mont, the English minister, heard that Frank- 
lin had landed, he threatened to quit France 
if the American rebel was suffered to put foot 
in Paris; that to quiet him messengers were 
actually sent to Nantes to forbid Franklin com- 
ing to the capital ; that they were sent by one 
route when it was well known that Franklin 
would travel by another ; and that, being once 
at Paris, Vergennes protested that the laws of 
nations and of hospitality would not allow him 
to send the old man away. But Franklin had 
no wish to embarrass the ministr}^, and, after a 
few days' stay at Paris, withdrew quietly to 
Passy, where he ever after remained. 

His arrival at Nantes, a lieutenant of police 
assured Vergennes, had " created a great sensa- 
tion." But his reception at Nantes was cold 



HIS RECEPTION AT PARIS. 221 

and tame compared with that which awaited 
him at Paris. Princes and nobles, statesmen 
and warriors, women of rank, men of fashion, 
philosophers, doctors, men of all sorts, welcomed 
him with a welcome such as had never yet 
fallen to the lot of man. To his house came 
Turgot, now free from the cares of state, and 
Vergennes, who still kept his portfolio ; Buffon, 
first among naturalists, and Cabanis, first among 
physicians ; D'Alembert and La Rochefoucauld, 
Raynal, Morellet, Mably and Malesherbes, for 
the fame of Franklin was great in France. 
Philosophers ranked him with Newton and 
Leibnitz. Diplomatists studied his answers in 
the examination before the commons of Eng- 
land. The people knew him as Bonhomme 
Richard. Men of letters pronounced " The 
Way to Wealth " " un tr^s-petit livre pour des 
grandes choses," and, translated and annotated, 
it was used, in the schools. Limners spent their 
ingenuity in portraying his features. His 
face was to be seen on rings, on bracelets, on 
the covers of snuff-boxes, on the prints that 
hung in the shop- windows. His bust was set 
up in the royal library. Medallions of him 
appeared at Versailles. If he made a jest, or 
said a good thing, the whole of France knew it. 
To one who asked him if a statement of Lord 
Stormont the English ambassador was true, he 



222 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

replied, " No, sir, it is not a truth, it is a — Stor- 
mont." And immediately a Stormont became 
another name for a lie. To another who came 
to lament with him over the retreat through 
the Jerseys and the misery at Valley Forge, 
he replied, " 9^ ira, 9^ ira ; " (it will all come 
right in the end.) Frenchmen took up the 
words, remembered them, and in a time yet 
more terrible made them a revolutionary cry. 

To the people he was the personification of 
the rights of man. It was seldom that he 
entered Paris. But when he did so, his dress, 
his wigless head, his spectacles, his walking 
stick, and his great fur cap marked him out 
as the American. If he went on foot, a crowd 
was sure to follow at his heels. If he entered 
the theatre, a court of justice, a public resort of 
any kind, the people were sure to burst forth 
into shouts of applause. Their hats, coats, 
canes, snuff-boxes, were all a la Franklin. To 
sit at table with him was an honor greatly 
sought. Poets wrote him wretched sonnets. 
Noble dames addressed him in detestable verse. 
Women crowned his head with flowers. Grave 
Academicians shouted with ecstasy to see him 
give Voltaire a kiss. No house was quite in 
fashion that did not have a Franklin portrait 
over the chimney-piece, a Franklin stove in one 
of the chambers, and in the garden, a liberty 



FRENCH ESTIMATES OF FRANKLIN. 223 

tree planted by his hand. The " Gazette " of 
Amiens undertook to prove that his ancestors 
had been French. 

With adulation so gross were mingled, how- 
ever, some sneers of contempt. The author of 
a "History of a French Louse" loaded him 
with abuse, and described him as a vulgar fel- 
low with wrinkled forehead and warty face, 
with teeth that might have been taken for 
cloves had they not been fast in a heavy jaw, 
and with the manners and gestures of a fop. 
Marquise de Crequi could not abide him because 
he ate eggs with pepper, salt, and butter in a 
goblet, and cut his melon with a knife. " 'Tis 
the fashion nowadays," sneered a third, " to 
have an engraving of Franklin over one's man- 
telpiece, as it was formerly to have a jumping- 
jack."i Capefigue long afterwards described 
him as one of the great charlatans of the eigh- 
teenth century. 

But these sneers, if heard at all, passed un- 
heeded. Franklin was an American, and what- 
ever was American was right. One French 
sheet pronounced the revolution the most in- 
teresting of its day. Another printed trans- 
lations of the circular letters of congress. A 

1 For many facts relating to Franklin in France I am in- 
debted to a most excellent book, " America and France/' by 
Lewis Rosenthal. 



224 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, 

third went to the cost of getting news direct 
from Boston. All over France the press 
abounded with spicy " Anecdotes Arnericaiues." 
American maps, books, almanacs were eagerly 
sought for. It was now that Suard translated 
Robertson's America, that Dubuisson put forth 
" Abrege de la Revolution de I'Amerique An- 
glaise," that school-children for the first time 
read " Science du Bonhomme Richard." 

Seizing the opportunity, Franklin had a 
hasty translation of the state constitutions 
made by M. Dubourg, and spread them over the 
country. The effect was astonishing. Liberty, 
constitutions, rights of man, began to be heard 
on every hand. Some found fault with the 
constitutions of New Jersey and North Caro- 
lina for excluding Roman Catholics from office. 
Some thought Massachusetts wrong in giving 
Harvard College power to bestow honorary 
degrees, which were undemocratic. A few 
blamed the states for servilely following the 
laws and usages of England. But the "Mer- 
cure de France " was loud in its praises of the 
constitutions, and the opinion of the " Mercure " 
was the opinion of France. 

There was, however, one point to which 
enthusiasm for America did not go. French- 
men were ready to burst into raptures over the 
Declaration of Independence, to laud the thir- 



WRITINGS ON FINANCE. 225 

teen constitutions as a "code that marks an 
epoch in the history of philosophy," to name 
Americans " the brave generous children of 
liberty," to call Franklin the Solon and Wash- 
ington the Fabius of the age, and to hurry 
to their maps to put their fingers on Bunker 
Hill, on Trenton, and the line of retreat through 
New Jersey ; they were eager fco have their 
king send ships and troops and money to the 
" insurgents," — but they were not disposed to 
invest their private savings in American scrip. 

To persuade them to part with their money, 
Franklin now wrote " A Comparison of Great 
Britain and America as to credit in 1777 ; " "A 
Catechism relative to the English National 
Debt ; " and " A Dialogue between Britain, 
France, Spain, Holland, Saxony, and America," 
had the pieces translated into four languages, 
and sent to the money centers of Europe. But 
they did not bring forth one groat. Nor can 
any one who will take the pains to read them 
be at a loss to know why. The style is ex- 
cellent ; the wit is good ; the illustrations are 
apt ; the facts are true. But there is not in 
them a single reason which could persuade a 
capitalist to loan money to the rebellious sub- 
jects of King George. It was true that indus- 
try, frugality, honesty, prompt payment of for- 
mer loans, ought to do much towards settling 



226 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

up the credit of a nation. It was true that 
America had shown all these essentials. It was 
true that England owed one hundred and ninety- 
five millions of pound sterling; that to count 
put so vast a sum in shilling-pieces would take 
a man one hundred and forty-eight years ; that 
when counted the shillings would weigh sixty- 
two millions of pounds, and fill thirty-one thou- 
sand carts. But it was also true that New 
York was in British hands, that the American 
Fabius had been badly beaten, that American 
independence was yet to be won, and that on 
independence hung the value of the American 
loan. Poor Richard had himself said, " A bird 
in the hand is worth two in the bush," and the 
money-lenders took him at his word. 

With these exceptions he wrote scarcely any- 
thing for months but letters and despatches, 
and of them he wrote as few as he could. He 
was an old man ; he hated the details of busi- 
ness. Moreover, he loved his ease, and was 
fond of society, as he found the most brilliant 
society in France fond of him. It ceases there- 
fore to be strange that he spent more time in 
the company of his companions than in the 
company of the suitors and sight -seers that 
came to Passy. 

John Adams, who joined him a few months 
•later, drew a sketch of him in a letter to Samuel 



HIS LIFE AT PASSY. 227 

Adams, a sketch that is good enough and true 
enough to be given in the writer's words : " The 
other you know personally, and that he loves 
his ease, hates to offend, and seldom gives any 
opinion till obliged to do it. I know also, and 
it is necessary that you should be informed, 
that he is overwhelmed with a correspondence 
from all quarters, most of them upon trifling 
subjects and in a more trifling style, with un- 
meaning visits from multitudes of people, 
chiefly from the vanity of having it to say that 
they have seen him. There is another thing 
which I am obliged to mention. There are so 
many private families, ladies, and gentlemen 
that he visits so often, and they are so fond of 
him, that he cannot well avoid it, — and so 
much intercourse with Academicians, that all 
these things together keep his mind in a con- 
stant state of dissipation." Business might drag, 
contractors might grow impatient, letters might 
accumulate, his papers might lie around in 
hideous disorder. But he must have his after- 
noon at Moulin Joly, or his evening chat with 
Morellet at Auteuil. Strangers who came to 
see him were amazed to behold papers of the 
greatest importance scattered in the most care- 
less way over the table and the floor. A few 
went so far as to remonstrate. They reminded 
him that spies surrounded him on every hand, 



228 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

and suggested that half an hour a day given to 
the business would enable his grandson to put 
the papers out of the reach of prying eyes. 
To such his invariable answer was, that he 
made it a rule never to be engaged in any busi- 
ness that he would not gladly have generally 
known, and kept his papers as carelessly as 
before. 

The independence of America had not as yet 
been acknowledged. Nor had the American 
commissioners, except as private gentlemen, 
been received by Vergennes. But their busi- 
ness was more than half suspected, and they 
were soon beset by every man who had any- 
thing to gain. To the room which served as an 
office came merchants seeking for tobacco con- 
tracts ; soldiers longing for commissions in the 
army of the United States one grade higher than 
that which they held in the army of France ; 
contractors eager to supply clothes and am- 
munition ; sea captains begging for letters of 
marque, and shipbuilders offering vessels of all 
sizes to be used as privateers. Some came 
themselves, some brought letters of introduction 
from strangers of whom the commissioners had 
never so much as heard. A few wrote. One 
sturdy beggar sent word to the commissioners, 
that if they would pay his gaming debts, he 
would pray earnestly for the success of their 



WICKES AND CONYNGHAM. 229 

cause. So endless were the demands, and so 
yarious were the forms in which they were 
made, that Franklin declared he never met a 
great lady, nor was introduced to a man of 
rank, never accepted an invitation to dinner, 
nor opened a letter, nor heard a carriage roll 
into his courtyard, but he felt sure he was to 
be pestered for a contract or a place. 

To such annoyances were soon added troubles 
of a very different sort. The privateers began 
to violate the neutrality of France. Lambert 
Wickes was thrice ordered from the ports of 
France, and twice in open defiance of the com- 
mand returned. Silas Deane and William 
Hodge had fitted out a lugger at Dunkirk and 
had given it to Gustavus Conyngham to com- 
mand, with strict injunctions to capture the 
Harwich packet plying between Holland and 
England. So well did he obey the commands 
that he was soon back in Dunkirk harbor with 
" The Prince of Orange " as his prize. The 
whole of England was instantly in commotion. 
The stocks fell. Insurance rose. The mer- 
chants put their goods on board of French ves- 
sels, and the English minister complained bit- 
terly to Vergennes. 

The offense of Wickes was made the subject 
of a long letter to the commission on their duty 
concerning the neutrality of France. But the 



230 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

offense of Conyngham could not be winked at ; 
his prize was taken from him, and he himself 
was flung into jail. Nothing daunted, Deane 
and Hodge bought and armed a swift cutter, 
and applied to the French minister for Conyng- 
ham's release. Vergennes was assured that the 
vessel should sail at once for the United States. 
But Conyngham was scarcely out of sight of 
land when he began to make prizes of every 
English ship that came in his way, and even 
threatened to burn Lynn. Vergennes now 
made another show of harshness and for a time 
Mr. Hodge was in the Bastille. 

The day for such severity was soon to end. 
Nothing could check the growing popularity of 
the American rebels. Vergennes forbade the 
crowds in the coffee-houses to discuss " des in- 
surgens;^^ but the people called him a fool, a 
dolt, a tool of England, and the discussions went 
on. Vergennes objected to the publication of 
Dubourg's translations of the State constitu- 
tions. The government would not give a li- 
cense ; but the book came out. Letters and 
Memoires, songs and catches, the caricatures, 
the nicknames, the street phrases, all bear wit- 
ness to the popularity of the American cause. 
Lafayette joined the rebels, and the nobility of 
France was thrown into excitement. The Hes- 
sians were captured at Trenton, and all Paris 



THE COMMISSIONERS RECEIVED, 231 

rushed for maps of America that they might 
follow the line of the retreat through the Jer- 
seys, and locate the scene of the yet more fa- 
mous victory. Burgoyne surrendered at Sara- 
toga, and the joy at Paris could not have been 
greater had the victory been won by France. 
" When shall we arm in favor of the rebels ? " 
was asked on every hand. The king was forced 
to answer, " At once." News of the surrender 
was brought to Vergennes on December 4, 
1777. December 16, the commissioners were 
told the king would recognize the independence 
of America and make a treaty of alliance at 
once. February 6, 1778, the treaty was made. 
In March, Franklin, wigless, s wordless, in 
buckleless shoes and the plainest clothes, made 
his way with Deane and Lee through a crowd 
of fops and painted beauties to the dressing- 
room of the king, to be formally received as a 
commissioner from America. April 13, 1778, 
D'Estaing sailed with his fleet from Toulon. 

In the flagship with D'Estaing went Silas 
Deane. Congress had recalled him and in his 
place sent John Adams, who landed at Bor- 
deaux the very day the fleet left Toulon. There 
he was received with every manifestation of de- 
light : saw the city lit up in his honor, was vis- 
ited by innumerable men of note, read with 
amusement in the " Courier d' Avignon " that he 



232 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, 

was brother to Samuel Adams, and went on to 
Passy to add one more to the little company of 
wrangling Americans. That little band was 
then made up of Ralph Izard, minister to the 
Duke of Tuscany, who would not receive him ; 
of William Lee, envoy to the courts of Vienna 
and Berlin ; William Carmichael, once secretary 
to Silas Deane ; Benjamin Franklin, and Arthur 
Lee. Neither of the Lees could abide Frank- 
lin. Franklin in turn detested Ralph Izard ; 
while Arthur Lee never wearied of abusing 
Deane. 

From these disputes Adams wisely kept aloof, 
turned himself into a drudging clerk, brought 
order into the office of the commissioners, and 
joined with all in urging Congress to abolish 
the commission and make one man minister to 
France. Congress for once took the advice, re- 
called Izard, passed over Arthur Lee and Adams, 
and chose Franklin to be minister to France. 
Lafayette brought out the commission, and with 
it came a letter bidding the agents in Europe 
quarrel no more. But the command was not 
heeded, and to the last hour of their stay in 
France, Arthur Lee and Izard lost no opportu- 
nity to thwart and annoy Franklin. 

After the alliance time became more plenti- 
ful with Franklin, and he once more began to 
write. To this he was prompted by a wish to 



MADAME BRILLON. 233 

amuse two fine women, Madame Helvetius and 
Madame Brillon, whose company lie greatly en- 
joyed. Madame Brillon was the wife of a man 
of wealth, and the mother of two daughters 
who played and sang. She dwelt not far from 
Passy, and to her home Franklin went twice 
each week to play chess, to hear the music, 
and sup tea which it was the fashion for 
the young women to serve. Madame Helve- 
tius dwelt at Auteuil. She was a widow of 
ample means ; for her husband, though a man 
of letters, had been a farmer-general of France, 
and to her Franklin seems to have been bound 
by more than common friendship. Indeed, 
there are not wanting some to say that, had the 
lady been willing, he would gladly have made 
her his wife. To know something concerning 
her would therefore be of interest ; but we are 
forced to be content with two portraits drawn 
the one by a man of the world, the other by a 
woman of New England. In the first, Madame 
Helvetius is presented to us by Franklin as a 
woman blessed with many and various friends. 
Statesmen and philosophers, poets and histo- 
rians, learned men of every sort, were drawn 
around her, not because of likeness of taste, for 
she affected none of their sciences ; not be- 
cause she took pains to engage them, for art- 
less simplicity was a part of her nature; but 



234 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

because of a charming benevolence, an amiable 
desire to oblige, and a disposition to please 
and to be pleased they could not find in one 
another. 

To the wife of John Adams, however, Ma- 
dame Helvetius seemed a very different crea- 
ture. Mrs. Adams had joined her husband at 
Passy, and had gone with him, one Sunday 
evening, to dine with Franklin. As the as- 
sembled company sat waiting for the Doctor, 
the French woman suddenly entered the room, 
and is thus described in a letter by Mrs. 
Adams : — 

" She entered the room with a careless, jaunty 
air. Upon seeing ladies who were strangers to her, 
she bawled out : ' Ah, men Dieu ! where is Franklin ? 
Why did you not tell me there were ladies here ? 
How I look ! ' she said, taking hold of a chemise made 
of tiffany, which she had on over a blue lutestring, 
and which looked as much upon the decay as her 
beauty, for she was once a handsome woman. Her 
hair was frizzled ; over it she had a small straw hat, 
with a dirty gauze half-handkerchief round it, and 
a bit of dirtier gauze scarf thrown over her shoul- 
ders. She ran out of the room. When she returned 
the Doctor entered at one door, she at the other ; 
upon which she ran forward to him, caught him by 
the hand : * Helas, Franklin ! ' then gave him a double 
kiss, one upon each cheek, and another upon his fore- 
head. When we went into the room to dine, she 



MADAME HELVETIUS. 235 

was placed between the Doctor and Mr. Adams. 
She carried on the chief of the conversation at din- 
ner, frequently locking her hand into the Doctor's, 
and sometimes spreading her arms upon the backs of 
both gentlemen's chairs, then throwing her arm care- 
lessly upon the Doctor's neck. ... I own I was 
highly disgusted, and never wish for an acquaintance 
with any ladies of this cast. After dinner she threw 
herself upon a settee, where she showed more than 
her feet. She had a little lap-dog, who was, next to 
the Doctor, her favorite. This she kissed, and when 
he wet the floor she wiped it up with her chemise. 
This is one of the Doctor's most intimate friends, 
with whom he dines once every week, and she with 
him.'' 

It is not unlikely that each portrait is in 
part correct, and that neither is complete ; for 
Franklin saw only her mental qualities, and 
Mrs. Adams her fashionable follies. 

To the weekly gatherings at Auteuil came 
Abbe Raynal, and Cabanis, and Morellet, and 
Abbe de la Roche, and Franklin, bringing with 
him now and then one of his grandsons. Of 
what took place on these occasions Franklin 
has made no mention, but the Abb^ Morellet 
has, in his " Memoirs," left us a long account. 
From this it should seem that each guest was 
expected to contribute to the pleasure of all ; 
that the meetings were always gay, and that 



>'^C^ 



236 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 

for songs, anecdotes, good stories, and pieces of 
wit, the company were never in want. Frank- 
lin's contribution was sometimes an apologue, 
and sometimes one of the " Bagatelles," which 
he would read or pass round for the amusement 
of the company. Thus were written, for the 
abbes and doctors that came to the drawing- 
room at Auteuil, the " Visit to the Elysian 
Fields," the drinking-song, and the little piece 
on the motto, " Truth is in wine." Each of 
these is good. But the choice bits of humor 
he reserved for the chess parties and supper 
parties at Moulin Joli. For Madame Brillon 
were composed "The Story of the Whistle," 
" The Ephemera," " The Petition of the Left 
Hand to those who have the superintendence of 
Education," " The Handsome and Deformed 
Leg," " The Morals of Chess," and the famous 
" Dialogue between Franklin and the Gout." 
They need no comment. Every schoolboy 
knows " The Story of the Whistle." Ninety 
years ago Noah Webster put it in his school- 
reader, and few school-readers have been with- 
out it since. Every chess-player has read " The 
Morals." Every teacher ought to be converted 
by the wisdom of " The Petition of the Left 
Hand." That children are still taught to use 
the right hand to the exclusion of the left, is a 
piece of folly of which every educator should 



''THE BAGATELLES.'' 237 

be ashamed. " The Ephemera " is an old piece 
in a new form, and is of interest for that very 
reason. In 1735 Franklin published in the 
Gazette a short essay on "Human Vanity." ^ 
The venerable Ephemera there gives utterance 
to almost the same lamentation as in the later 
piece. But the difference bet^Yeen the two in 
language, in arrangement, in wit, is precisely 
the difference between Franklin's manner of 
writing in his old age and in his youth. 

In all editions of Franklin's works in which 
the " Bagatelles " are contained, there appears 
among them a piece entitled " The Humble 
Petitions presented to Madame Helvetius by 
her Cats." But it has no business in the col- 
lection. Not a line is Franklin's work. Long 
after he was dead and gone, his grandson found 
among his papers a portfolio marked " Baga- 
telles." In the portfolio was the " Humble Peti- 
tion," and when the papers were published, the 
" Petition " took its place among them. 

The Memoires of Abbe Morellet, however, 
now make it certain that the Abbe was the 
author ; that he wrote it as late as 1787 ; and 
that he sent it in a letter to Franklin, after the 
Doctor had come home to America for the last 
time, " as a companion piece," says Morellet, 
" to the ' Thanks ' you returned for the flies in 
1 Pennsylvania Gazette, December 4, 1735. 



238 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

your rooms, after the destruction of tlie spiders 
ordered by Our Lady." What became of the 
" Thanks " is not known. No trace of the piece 
exists, even among the papers at Washington. 
No mention is made of it by any one save Mo- 
rellet. Such an utter disappearance is strange, 
for the most trifling of his productions were 
greatly admired by his French friends, were 
handed about for perusal, and copied over and 
over again. They were, moreover, as the manu- 
scripts at Washington show, produced with 
much pains and labor, and, when written, were 
looked after with fatherly care. Not a few, 
indeed, were put in type and struck off on a 
press set up for his amusement at Passy. The 
press he bought ; but the type were cast in his 
own house from matrices made by his grandson, 
Benjamin Bache. 

One of the " Bagatelles " so printed is still 
preserved, and passes by the name " Numb. 705. 
Supplement to the Boston Independent Chroni- 
cle, March, 1782." It is printed in the form 
in which newspaper supplements were then is- 
sued, and contains two fictitious letters. One 
is from John Paul Jones to Sir Joseph Yorke, 
defending himself against the charge of piracy. 
The other is called " Extract of a Letter from 
Captain Gerrish, of the New England Militia." 
The captain states that in an expedition to the 



THE '' SUPPLEMENT.'^' 239 

OswegatcTiie, on the St. Lawrence, a quantity 
of peltry was taken, and among it eight pack- 
ages of scalps. With the scalps was a letter to 
the Canadian governor from James Crauford, 
a trader, explaining whence they came and 
from whom the Indians took them. Neither 
of the letters is remarkable for wit, and so 
scarce is the Supplement that it seems quite 
likely that not a dozen copies were printed. 
Yet, scarce as the Supplement is, the pretended 
letter of Crauford seems to be known to men 
who have never read so much as the table of 
contents of the editions of Franklin's works, 
and has in our own day been printed as con- 
taining historical facts. Indeed, not long since 
a Philadelphia newspaper ^ published the letter 
in full, with the assurance that it was " found 
in the baggage of General Burgoyne after his 
surrender to General Gates ; " that it " was 
probably sent by an Indian runner to Bur- 
goyne, to be forwarded to the governor," and 
that Crauford " was probably a resident Brit- 
ish agent with the Senecas." 

During the remainder of his stay in France 
Franklin wrote but little. For a year his time 
was taken up with the framing of the prelimi- 
nary articles of peace, and the drafting of the 

i " A gift to King George." Philadelphia Times, July 3, 
1887. 



240 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

definitive treaty. But in 1784 he gave to tlie 
world his " Remarks concerning the Savages of 
North America," and " Information to those 
vrho would remove to America." Fifty years 
ago it was customary to ascribe to him a piece 
on the American custom of " whitewashing." 
Indeed, some editions of his works contain it. 
But the piece was written by Francis Hopkin- 
son and may be found in Carey's " American 
Museum." 

Franklin had now entered his seventy-ninth 
year. Old age had laid upon him many in- 
firmities, and he longed more earnestly than 
ever to be again in America. He had twice 
asked to be recalled, once in 1781 and again 
in 1782. Congress answered the first request 
by making him a member of the peace commis- 
sion. But of the second, made after the pre- 
liminary articles had been signed, no notice 
was taken till March, '1785. It was then ac- 
cepted with great reluctance, and Thomas Jef- 
ferson appointed in his stead. 

As he was far too feeble to go to Versailles 
to take leave, he wrote a farewell letter to the 
minister of foreign affairs, and received in re- 
turn some gracious words and a portrait of the 
king set round with diamonds. He had in- 
tended to go by water to the sea ; but he was 
not able to set out till July, and the Seine was 



THE VOYAGE HOME. 241 

then too low. The queen, therefore, loaned 
hira her litter, and in this he went by easy 
stages to Havre. From Havre he crossed to 
Southampton. Even there honors awaited him. 
The British government would collect no duty 
on his goods. His old friend the Bishop of St. 
Asaph hastened down to bid him Godspeed, 
and beg him to write more of the Autobiog- 
raphy while on the sea. But he gave the re- 
quest no heed, and spent the seven weeks on 
the ship in writing pamphlets. One treated of 
navigation, of sails and cables, of ships and 
their make, of the Gulf Stream, of the ways of 
giving motion to boats, and of the care to be 
taken by those about to go to sea. Another 
dealt with the causes and cure of smoky chim- 
neys. The third was an account of a stove for 
burning pit-coal. 

He was still busy with these when, on the 
14th of September, the ship made fast to the 
Market Street wharf. A discharge of cannon 
announced his arrival. All the church-bells 
rang out a merry peal, while crowds of his fel- 
low-citizens hurried to the wharf to meet him, 
and escort him to his home. The next day the 
general assembly welcomed him and assured him 
that his deeds would be set down in history to 
his immortal honor. The faculty of the Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania, the members of the 

16 



242 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

Constitutional Society, the American Philosoph- 
ical Society, the officers of the militia, the jus- 
tices of the city, followed suit. The people in- 
stantly chose him a member of the council, and 
the council and the assembly made him presi- 
dent of the commonwealth. In the crowd that 
saw him, on the day he took the oath of office, 
preceded by constables and sub-sheriffs, high 
sheriff and coroners with their wands, judges 
and marshals and wardens, and collectors of 
customs and officers of the tonnage, and all the 
great officers of state, was a young printer from 
Ireland. His name was Matthew Carey, and he 
had when a lad of nineteen offended the Eng- 
lish government by announcing for publication 
at Dublin a pamphlet on the immediate repeal 
of the penal code against Roman Catholics. 
The government offered a reward for his arrest. 
His father suppressed the pamphlet and sent 
his boy to Paris. There for a while he copied 
despatches for Franklin, came back to Dublin, 
started a newspaper, and was soon in jail for 
lampooning the prime minister. When he was 
out he came over to Philadelphia, where in 1785 
Lafayette gave him the means to found " The 
Pennsylvania Evening Herald and American 
Monitor." In the columns of that newspaper 
he now gave an account of what he saw, and 
addressed Franklin in some fulsome verses less 
honorable to his head than to his heart. 



HIS POPULARITY. 243 

Franklin was now at the very height of his 
fame. Every ship brought him letters from 
the most renowned men Europe could produce. 
Not a traveler came to America but turned 
aside to see him. Pamphleteers and book- 
makers did him reverence in fulsome dedica- 
tions. Towns were proud to bear his name. 
The State of Franklin took its appellation from 
him. No newspaper mentioned him without 
some grateful remark. He was "the venerable 
Dr. Franklin," "the revered patriot Dr. Frank- 
lin," " our illustrious countrj^man and friend of 
man," "the father of American independence." 
To his house came regularly the Philosophical 
Society, the Abolition Society, the Society for 
Political Education. 

The purpose of this society seems to have 
been to discuss theories of government, and to 
listen to long papers on the evils of banks, on 
the blessings of paper money, on the best way 
to restore the ruined commerce of America. 
More than one of these papers found its way 
into print, and it is not unlikely that Franklin 
himself entertained the members by reading to 
them from time to time the "Retort Courteous," 
his remarks on " Sending Felons to America," 
and his likeness of the Anti- federalists to the 
Jews. 

The paper on the Felons is in one of the 



244 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

Pennsylvania Gazettes for 1786. He observed 
that the British public were growing clamorous 
on the subject of the debts due their mer- 
chants before the war. But there was a debt 
of long standing about which nothing was said, 
and which might now be paid. Everybody 
remembered the time when the mother country, 
as a mark of paternal tenderness, emptied her 
gaols into America for "the better peopling," 
as she termed it, of the colonies. America was 
therefore much in debt on that account; and 
as Great Britain was eager for a settlement of 
old accounts, this was a good one to begin with. 
Let every English ship that comes to our shores 
be forbidden to land her goods till the master 
gave bonds to carry back one felon for every 
fifty tons of burden. These remittances could 
easily be made,' for the felons she had planted 
had increased most amazingly. 

The " Retort Courteous " also treats of the 
debts. The clamor which had so long been 
going the rounds of the British press had now 
been taken up by the ministry, and the Ameri- 
cans made to understand that the posts along 
the frontier would not be given up till the 
debts due the British were paid. The justness 
of this conduct is coolly and honestly examined 
in the " Retort." The substance of the paper 
is, that, having brought America, by their own 



THE ''RETORT COURTEOUS:^ 245 

wicked acts, to the yery brink of ruin, they now 
cry out that old scores are not settled. Gen- 
eral Gage takes possession of Boston, shuts the 
gates, cuts off communication with the coun- 
try, brings the people to the verge of starva- 
tion, and then tells them if they will deliver up 
their arms they may leave with their families 
and their goods. The arms are given up, and 
they are then told that " goods " mean chairs, 
tables, beds, but not merchandise. Merchant 
goods he seizes, and the cry at once goes up, 
" Those Boston people do not pay their debts." 

One act of Parliament shuts the port of 
Boston; another destroys the New England 
fishery ; a British army harries the country, 
burns Falmouth and Charlestown, Fairfield and 
New London ; and the whole world is told, 
" Those knavish Americans will not pay us." 

The humane Dr. Johnson, in his " Taxation 
no Tyranny," suggests that the slaves be ex- 
cited to rise, cut the throats of their masters, 
and come to the British army. The thing is 
done, and the planters of Virginia and the 
Carolinas lose thirty thousand of their laboring 
people, and are in turn denounced as men who 
do not pay their debts. War having put a stop 
to the shipment of tobacco, the crops of several 
years are piled up in the inspecting ware- 
houses, and in the private stores of the Virginia 



246 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, 

planters. Then comes Arnold, Phillips, and 
Cornwallis, and the British troops. The tobacco 
is burned, and the British merchants, to whom 
it might have been sent in payment of debt, 
exclaim, " Those damned Virginians ! why don't 
they pay their debts?" 

The seventh article of the treaty sets forth 
that the king's troops in leaving America should 
take no negroes with them. Guy Carleton 
goes off with several hundred. The treaty 
is thus broken almost as soon as made. But 
why should England keep a treaty when the 
Americans do not pay their debts? 

During 1787 he wrote nothing. He was still 
president of the Commonwealth of Pennsyl- 
vania. He was a delegate to the convention 
that framed the Constitution, and the duties of 
the two posts left no time for literature. In 
1788 he drew a comparison of the conduct of 
the ancient Jews and the An ti- federalists in 
the United States of America. In 1789 came 
a "Plea for improving the Condition of Free 
Blacks;" an "Address to the Public from the 
Pennsylvania Society for Promoting Abolition 
of Slavery ; " and " An Account of the Su- 
premest Court of Judicature in Pennsylvania, 
namely, the Court of the Press." 

The press for two years past had been grow- 
ing most abusive. Men who two years before 



LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 247 

had been held up as models of every repub- 
lican virtue had, since the Constitution was 
framed, been blackened, named rogue or villain, 
and fairly dragged in the mire. Washington 
had been called by the Anti-federalists a fool by 
nature. The same party had described Frank- 
lin a fool from old age. To this he replied 
good-naturedly in a letter proposing that to 
the liberty of the press should be added the 
more ancient liberty of the cudgel. In a hu- 
morous way he reviewed the power of the court, 
the practice of the court, the foundation of its 
authority, by whom it was commissioned, and 
the checks proper to be set up against the bad 
use of its powers. The authority came from 
the article in the State Constitution which 
established the liberty of the press, something 
every Pennsylvanian was ready to die for, but 
which very few understood. To him the liberty 
of the press seemed like the liberty of the press 
felons had in England ; that is, the liberty of 
being pressed to death or hanged. If, as many 
thought, liberty of the press meant the liberty 
of abusing each other, he would gladly give up 
his share of the liberty of abusing others for the 
privilege of not being abused himself. A great 
deal had been said of late about the needs, of 
checks on the powers of the Constitution. For 
like reasons it might be well to put a check on 



248 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

the powers of the court of the press, and his 
proposition was, leave the liberty of the press 
untouched, but let the liberty of the cudgel go 
with it pari passu. Then if a writer attacked 
you, and put his name to the charge, you could 
go to him just as openly and break his head. 
Should he take refuge behind the printer, and 
you knew who he was, you could waylay him 
some dark night, come up behind and soundly 
drub him. This might cause breaches of the 
peace. Then let the legislators take up both 
liberties, that of the cudgel and that of the 
press, and by law fix their exact limits. 

The Doctor had now become a great sufferer. 
The gout had long tormented him sorely. For 
a year past the stone had kept him much in 
bed, racked with pain, which he took large 
doses of laudanum to allay. It was during a 
brief respite from these attacks that he wrote 
and sent off to the "Federal Gazette" his last 
piece. Both the style and the matter make it 
worthy to close so long and so splendid a career. 

The house of representatives had, off and 
on, for a month past, been considering some pe- 
titions on slavery. Two came from the yearly 
meetings of the Quakers, and prayed that the 
slave trade might be suppressed. One written 
and signed by Franklin came from the Penn- 
sylvania Abolition Society, and prayed that 



EI8 DEATH. 249 

slavery might be suppressed. The house sent 
them all to a committee; the committee made 
a report, and on that report James Jackson, of 
Georgia, made a violent pro-slavery speech. 
Franklin read it with just contempt, and turned 
it into ridicule. He pretended to have read in 
an old book called " Martin's Account of his [ 
Consulship" a very similar speech on a very sim- 
ilar petition. The speaker was Sidi Mehemet 
Ibrahim, a member of the Divan of Algiers, 
and the occasion a petition of the sect of Erika 
or Purists, praying that the practice of enslav- 
ing Christians might be stopped. The speech 
of Ibrahim against granting the prayer is a 
fine parody of that of Jackson, and worthy of 
Franklin in his best days. 

But his best days were gone. The stone be- 
came more painful than ever. Early in April, 
pleurisy attacked him ; an abscess of the lungs 
followed, and on the night of April 17, 1790, 
he passed quietly away. His body, followed 
by a great crowd of citizens, was laid by that 
of his wife in the yard of Christ Church. For 
a time the mourning was general. The news- 
papers appeared with inverted column rules. 
Congress wore a black badge for thirty days. 
But in France the demonstration was greater 
still. The National Assembly put on mourn- 



250 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

ing. The city of Passy gave his name to a 
street. He was lauded by Fauchet before the 
Commune of Paris; by Condorcet before the 
Academie des Sciences ; by Rochefoucauld 
Liancourt before the Society of '89. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE AIJTOBIOGKAPHY. 

No sooner was the great man dead than his 
life and works fell a prey to biographers and 
editors. For this he was himself to blame. 
Long before he died, he saw many of his letters 
and pieces published and republished, in maga- 
zines and newspapers, both at home and abroad. 
He well knew that, do what he might, they 
would live. Yet he would not arrange and 
publish them himself, nor gather them with a 
view to being published by his executors. The 
great discoveries with which his name was 
joined, the events in which he had borne so 
striking a part, made his life of no common in- 
terest to his countrymen. Yet it was only by 
pestering that he was led to go on with an 
Autobiography begun with difl&dence, and never 
brought to a close. 

So much as now makes the five opening 
chapters was written during a visit to the 
Bishop of St. Asaph, at Twyford, in 1771. 
The visit over, the writing stopped, and the 



252 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, 

manuscript was left to begin a career more 
strange than any in the history of literature. 

When Franklin set out for Paris in 1776, 
he left his papers in the care of his friend Jo- 
seph Galloway. Galloway carried the trunk 
containing thein to his home in Bucks County, 
and placed it in an outhouse that served as an 
office, turned loyalist, and hurried to the army 
of Clinton at New York. Abandoned thus to 
the care of his wife, his property fell a prey to 
the vicissitudes of war. Pennsylvania confis- 
cated the estate. The British raided the house, 
smashed the trunk, and scattered the papers of 
Franklin over the floor, where they lay for 
months. A few were picked up by Benjamin 
Bache, and in time a bundle of them fell into 
the hands of Abel James, a Quaker, and an 
ardent admirer and warm friend of Franklin. 
James found the packet to consist of a quantity 
of notes, and twenty sheets of closely written 
manuscript. It was that part of the Autobi- 
ography which had been written at Twyford 
in 1771. Delighted that such a treasure should 
have come in his way, James made a careful 
copy and sent it in 1782 to Franklin at Passy. 
With it went an urgent letter begging him to 
go on with so profitable and pleasing a work. 
The warmth of the appeal, the sight of the 
fragment long thought lost, were not without 



THE MANUSCRIPT. 253 

effect upon him. His labor had not been wast- 
ed. A purpose once abandoned might yet be 
accomplished. He hesitated, sent both letter 
and manuscript to his friend B. Vaughan, and 
from Vaughan, in 1783, came back a still more 
urgent entreaty to go on. 

Franklin was then deep in affairs of state. 
Peace negotiations were on foot. The treaty 
was being framed. He was too busy making 
the history of his country to find time to write 
the history of his life. But in 1784 he under- 
took the task, and worked with diligence till he 
went home in 1785, when he once more put the 
work aside. But his friends would not suffer 
him to abandon it. Again and again Benjamin 
Vaughan and M. le Veillard besought him to go 
on. Again and again he promised and excused 
himself. His papers were in disorder. His office 
left him no time. He would go on with the 
work when the Constitutional Convention rose. 
But when it rose he was suffering too much 
from the stone. At last, in 1788, the promise 
was kept. The Autobiography was brought 
down to 1757, and a fair copy sent to Dr. Price 
and Benjamin Vaughan. The original went to 
M. le Veillard and Rochefoucauld-Liancourt at 
Paris. Thus a second time the manuscript 
left the author, and a second time was doomed 
to a series of strange adventures. 



254 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

Hardly were the copies safe in Europe wlien 
Franklin died. His books and papers passed by 
will to his grandson, and the work of editing 
began. With a promptness he never showed 
again in the whole course of his career, Temple 
Franklin wrote at once to M. le Veillard, told 
him of the disposition made of the papers, 
claimed the manuscript of the Autobiography, 
asked him to show it to no one unless some 
eulogist appointed by the Academie, and bade 
him hold it, sealed in an envelope, addressed 
to the owner. The letter bears date May 22, 
1790. But long before it was read at Passy, 
the Eighty-nine Society of Paris had listened 
with delight to a fulsome eulogy of Franklin 
pronounced by Rochefoucauld. The speaker 
assured the hearers that Franklin had written 
his memoirs ; that the manuscript was then 
in France, and that it should be published 
the moment any additions that might have 
been made to it came over from America. He 
has been accused of keeping his word ; for in 
March, 1791, " Memoirs de la vie privee de 
Benjamin Franklin, Merits par lui-m^me, et 
adresses a son fils. Suivis d'un precis histo- 
riques de sa Vie politique, et de plusieurs Pieces 
relatives a ce Pere de la Liberte," came out at 
Paris. Buisson was the publisher. But who 
the translator was, how he got the manuscript, 



TEE FRENCH EDITION OF 1791. 255 

and who owned it, can never be known. He 
would not, the editor said in the preface, give 
any account of the way the original manuscript 
came into his possession. He had it. It was 
in English. If any critic chose to disbelieve 
it, let him leave his name with Buisson, book- 
seller. Rue Hautefeuille No. 20, and when four 
hundred subscribers were secured the memoirs 
should be published in English. The manu- 
script in his possession, it was true, came down 
no further than 1731. Doubtless the family of 
Franklin would soon give his memoirs to the 
world in a more completed form. But the edi- 
tor was sure the heirs of the great man could 
never be persuaded to give the history of his 
early years. Their vanity would not permit 
it. Should they, as he feared, suppress this 
first part of the memoirs in their edition, the 
world at least would be obliged to him for 
having preserved it. 

Scarcely was the book out when M. le Veil- 
lard hastened to disavow it. On March 21, 
1791, he wrote a long note to the " Journal de 
Paris." He did not know, he declared, how 
the translator got his copy. He had no part 
in the act. What had appeared was not a third 
of what he had, which came down to 1757. 

That Veillard told the truth is not to be 
doubted. It is to his efforts more than to any 



256 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

one else that we owe the existence of the Auto- 
biography. He gave Franklin no peace till it 
was written, and, having obtained the manu- 
script, nothing could have induced him to pub- 
lish it in so bad a form. The Buisson trans- 
lation is shamefully done. We have " misse 
Eead" and "mistriss Godfrey," but "M. Den- 
ham, M. Grace," and '' Rev. M. George White- 
Field." Cooper's Creek becomes " Sooper's 
Creek," Edinburgh is " Edinbourg," " in the 
Grub-street ballad style " is rendered " des 
chansons d'avengles." When compared with 
the original manuscript as given in Mr. John 
Bigelow's edition, dates are found to be want- 
ing, names suppressed, names of cities inserted, 
and whole paragraphs wanting. 

While these things were taking place at 
Paris, Temple Franklin was gathering his 
grandfather's papers at Philadelphia. That 
none might escape him, he thrice inserted this 
advertisement in his cousin's newspaper : 

"DE. FRANKLIN'S PAPERS. 

" Towards the end of the year 1776, the late Dr. 
Franklin, on his departure for Europe, for greater 
security deposited a large chest, containing his pa- 
pers and manuscripts, with Mr. Joseph Galloway, at 
his place in Bucks County, in Pennsylvania. The 
same was left there by Mr. Galloway when he 



THE CALL FOR THE PAPERS. 257 

quitted his habitation, and was, it is said, broke open 
by persons unknown, and many of the papers taken 
away and dispersed in the neighborhood. 

" Several of the most valuable of these papers have 
since been recovered ; but there are still some miss- 
ing, among which are a few of the Doctor's Letter 
Books and a manuscript in four or five volumes folio, 
on Finance, Commerce, and Manufactures. The sub- 
scriber, to whom Dr. Franklin bequeathed all his pa- 
pers and manuscripts, and who is preparing to give 
his works to the public, takes this method of inform- 
ing those who may have knowledge of any of the 
above mentioned papers, and will communicate the 
same to him so that he may thereby be enabled to re- 
cover any of them, or who may themselves procure 
any of them and deliver them to him, shall be 
thankfully and generously rewarded and no questions 
asked. He likewise requests those persons who may 
have any letters or other writings of Dr. Franklin 
that may be deemed worthy the public eye, to be so 
kind as to forward them as early as possible, that 
they may be inserted in the Doctor's Works. 

" Those, also, who may have any books or maps 
belonging to the library of the late Dr. Franklin, 
are desired to return them without delay, to the sub- 
scriber, who is about to embark for Europe. 

"W. T. Franklin." 

What response was made to his call is not 
known. That some of the letter -books and 
papers were sent back is quite likely, and with 



258 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

these, towards the close of 1790, Temple 
Franklm hurried over to London. He was just 
in time. For no sooner did the Buisson edition 
come out at Paris than two separate transla- 
tions were begun at London. By positive as- 
surances that he was about to publish tbe Au- 
tobiography complete, the translations were put 
off for two years. In 1793 both were placed on 
the market. 

One bears the imprint of J. Parsons, is a lit- 
eral translation of Buisson 's edition, and was 
done by a man as ignorant of French as the 
French translator was of English. Franklin 
called one of his early ballads " The Light- 
house Tragedy." The Frenchman rendered 
this "La Tragedie du Phare;" and this, in the 
English copy, is given as " The Tragedy of 
Pharaoh." What Franklin called a swimming- 
school becomes a " school of natation." His ex- 
pression '' Grub-street ballad style " is softened 
into "blind men's ditties." There are the same 
blanks, the same errors, the same putting-in 
and leaving-out of words, and the same shorten- 
ing of paragraphs, as in the French edition. 
The book most happily was never reprinted. 

The reason for this was the issue, at the 
same time, of a far better translation by Frank- 
lin's old friend Richard Price. This was made 
in 1791. But Price soon followed Franklin to 



THE PRICE EDITION OF 1793. 259 

the grave, and to please the grandson the trans- 
lation was held back. The preface declares 
that the basis of the work was the Paris edi- 
tion of 1791. A letter from Price asserts that 
he has read the Autobiography as far as com- 
plete, and the character of the book shows that 
he had. Now, for the first time, the missing 
dates are given, the errors corrected, and the 
English made to resemble the English used by 
Franklin. But the Autobiography ends at 1731. 
It is safe, therefore, to believe that Temple 
Franklin had recalled the copy sent to Mr. 
Vaughan, and that he would not let Dr. Price 
see it. Certain it is that the Doctor found him- 
self forced to patch out the life with such frag- 
ments of biography as he could get, and that 
he used for this purpose a sketch by Henry 
Stuber, of Philadelphia. 

S tuber was a young man of great promise. 
Before he was sixteen he was graduated at the 
University of Pennsylvania, began the study 
of medicine, took his degree, and was deep in 
the study of law when death cut short his 
career. Nor were his friends the only ones 
who watched him with interest. The public 
also expected much from him, for he had is- 
sued proposals for publishing a translation of 
Shoepp's " Travels in America," a work that 
never has been, but richly deserves to be, trans- 



260 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

lated, and had become a writer for the " Co- 
lumbian Magazine." His contribution to the 
Magazine consisted of a Life of Franklin, in the 
numbers for June, July, September, October, 
November, 1790, and February, March, May, 
and June, 1791. The performance is in no wise 
remarkable, but bears strong evidence that 
Stuber was suffered to at least read over the 
copy of the Autobiography in Temple Frank- 
lin's keeping. Many of the statements in the 
Life can be accounted for in no other way. 

Up to this time only so much of the Auto- 
biography had been made public as Franklin 
wrote at Twyford in 1771. But in 1798 a 
new edition was issued at Paris, with much of 
the second part composed in 1784 at Passy. 
Even this encroachment on his literary prop- 
erty could not make Temple Franklin bestir 
himself. Indeed, twenty years were yet to go 
by before he would make good his promise. 
Meantime book-makers, reviewers, and news- 
paper critics, weary of delay, began to abuse 
him. To these men his conduct was perfectly 
clear. He had sold himself to the British gov- 
ernment. 

These charges first take shape in the early 
part of the present century, in the ''National 
Intelligencer," a Jeffersonian newspaper pub- 
lished in the city of Washington. The editor 



TEMPLE FRANKLIN ACCUSED OF FRAUD. 261 

declared that the public were tired with waiting 
for the appearance of Dr. Franklin's works ; 
that something was wrong ; that a rumor was 
current that the papers of the great man would 
never be published ; and called on his descend- 
ants to explain. No explanation was made, 
and in 1804 the " Nation^il Intelligencer " re- 
peated the charge. Silence, he declared, had 
given the subject increased weight. More than 
eight years before, Benjamin Franklin Bache 
had often declared that an edition was surely 
coming out at the same time in Europe and 
America. Why had it not come? Some said 
because Mr. Temple Franklin had sold his 
copyright to Dilby, a London bookseller, who 
in turn had sold it for a greater sum to the 
British government, in order that the papers 
might be suppressed. 

The effect of this was to bring out the Duane 
edition. Duane was owner of the "Aurora," 
and husband to the widow of Benjamin Frank- 
lin Bache, and had thus come into possession of 
a number of books and papers Temple Franklin 
had not secured. These he determined to pub- 
lish, and in 1805 announced in the " Aurora" 
that subscriptions would be received for a three- 
volume edition of Dr. Franklin's works. The 
publication began in 1808, and went on till 
1818, when, instead of three, six volumes had 
been issued. 



262 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

The charge of fraud, once started, crossed 
the Atlantic, and next appears in 1806 in the 
preface to a three-volume edition of Franklin's 
works, edited by Benjamin Vaughan at London. 
Vaughan declares, that when Temple Franklin 
thought his labor done, he offered the manu- 
script to the London printers, but that his terms 
were high, that the printers demurred, and that 
nothing more was heard of the offer. " The 
reason was plain. The proprietor, it seems, 
had found a bidder of a different description 
in some emissary of government, whose object 
was to withhold the manuscripts from the 
world, not to benefit it by their publication, 
and they either passed into other hands, or the 
person to whom they were bequeathed received 
a remuneration for suppressing them." The 
preface is dated April 7, 1806. The charge 
which it contains was sifted, denied, and pro- 
nounced foolish by the " Edinburg Review " for 
the July following. But it had meanwhile re- 
crossed the Atlantic, and in September, 1806, 
appeared in the "American Citizen," a news- 
paper published by James Cheetham at New 
York. 

" William Temple Franklin," says the writ- 
er, " without shame and without remorse, mean 
and mercenary, has sold the sacred deposit 
committed to his care by Dr. Franklin to the 



TEMPLE FRANKLIN ACCUSED OF FRAUD. 263 

British govern ment. Franklin's works are lost 
to the world forever." And now the charge 
went over to France, and was taken up by 
"The Argus, or London Review," a journal 
published at Paris, March 28, 180T. To this, 
Temple Franklin had the folly to reply. The 
editor had the courtesy to declare the reply a 
full and satisfactory answer to the slander, 
and the matter stood just where it did in the 
beginning. Men went on asserting and believ- 
ing it, and it was as late as 1829 printed, with 
a vast deal more of similar nonsense, in Jeffer- 
son's "Anas." 

The truth seems to be this: Temple Frank- 
lin did the best he could, and the best he could 
do was worthless. He was fussy, he was slow, 
he was cursed with the dreadful curse of put- 
ting off. What the duty of an editor was, he 
never knew. His time was squandered in sort- 
ing, arranging and rearranging, reducing here, 
adding on there, cutting a piece from one place 
to paste it on at another, till the manuscript ' 
was a mixture of paper, paste, and pins; till 
the work was neither his own nor his grand- 
father's. 

When he could stand it no longer, Colburn, 
the publisher, persuaded Temple Franklin to 
have a clerk, and sent him as such a man who 
knew something of editing. Then the labor 



264 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

went on more rapidly till a new trouble arose. 
Colburn would risk but six volumes. There 
was manuscript enough to make ten, and 
Franklin insisted that all should be printed. 
It was finally settled that six should be issued, 
should be looked on as the first installment, and 
if all went well the rest should follow. Thus 
in 1817, twenty-seven years after Temple be- 
gan his labors, the first genuine edition of his 
grandfather's writings came forth from the 
press. The six octavo volumes were issued 
from 1817 to 1819. But a three-volume quarto 
edition appeared in 1818. 

And now the used and the unused papers were 
cast into an old chest, and left in the vaults of 
the banking house of Herries, Farquhar & Co., 
St. James Street, London, while Franklin went 
over to Paris. There he lived, married, and 
died. His wife, as executrix, administered on 
his estate, and on September 23, 1823, took the 
trunk from the vaults of the banker, and for 
seventeen years the Franklin manuscripts again 
were lost to history. Colburn seemed to care 
nothing about them. Sparks was unable to 
find them. Nor were they found till 1840, when 
they were discovered done up in loose bundles 
on the top shelf of a tailor-shop in St. James. 
The shop was in the building where Temple 
Franklin had lodged. The finder was once a 



THE FRANKLIN PAPERS AT WASHINGTON. 265 

fellow-lodger, and by right of discovery now 
claimed them as his own. Too lazy to read 
them, he supposed them merely the originals 
of what was already in print, and offered them, 
as such, to the British Museum j to Lord Pal- 
merston, to a long succession of American minis- 
ters to England. But nobody wanted them till 
Abbott Lawrence sent him to Mr. Henry Ste- 
vens, who bought them in 185L 

Their true character then came out. Many 
indeed had been printed. But among them 
were the letter-books and manuscripts once be- 
lieved to be lost. By Mr. Stevens they were 
sorted, repaired, arranged ; the pins were taken 
out ; the pasted pieces were soaked apart, the 
manuscripts restored to the state in which Ben- 
jamin Franklin left them, and, bound in Bed- 
ford's best manner, they were in 1882 sold to 
the United States government for $35,000. 

To describe the collection is impossible. In 
it are the Craven Street letter-book ; the Hart- 
ley correspondence ; the letters concerning the 
Hutchinson Papers ; the records of the Ameri- 
can legation at Paris; the correspondence of the 
commissioners to negotiate for peace ; and the 
original manuscripts of the essays, squibs, and 
bagatelles. There, too, in the original, is the 
famous letter to Strahan ; the petition of tlie 
Congress of 1774 to the King; Franklin's 



266 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

" Articles of Belief and Acts of Religion ;" and 
two bagatelles on "Perfumes," and "Choice of 
a Mistress," which are unhappily too indecent 
to print. The manuscript of the Autobiogra- 
phy is not there. 

The tradition runs that when M. le Veillard 
lost his head during the Reign of Terror, the 
copy given to him by Doctor Franklin passed 
to his widow; that Temple Franklin asked it 
from her, that she demurred, and that he gave 
her in exchange the original sheets in his pos- 
session. Madame le Veillard gave them in 
turn to her daughter, who bequeathed them to 
her cousin, who left them to her grandson, who 
made them over in 1867 to Mr. John Bigelow, 
then minister from the United States to France. 
Mr. Bigelow at once put out a new edition of 
the Autobiography, and the world knew for the 
first time that what it had for fifty years been 
reading as the Life of Franklin was garbled and 
incomplete. Temple Franklin traded manu- 
scripts with Madame le Veillard that he might 
get a clean copy for the printer. But when the 
clean copy which he published is compared with 
the unclean copy which he gave away, they are 
found to be very different. More than twelve 
hundred separate and distinct changes, says Mr. 
Bigelow, have been made in the text. The last 
eight pages of the manuscript were not printed. 



CHANGES IN THE MANUSCRIPT. 267 

As to the nature of these changes little need 
be said. They are usually Temple Franklin's 
Latin words for Benjamin Franklin's Anglo- 
Saxon. They remind us of the language of 
those finished writers for the press who can 
never call a fire anything but a conflagration, 
nor a crowd anything but a vast concourse, and 
who dare not use the same word twice on the 
same page. Thus it is that in the Temple 
Franklin edition "notion" has become "pre- 
tence," that "night coming on" has become 
"night approaching," that "a very large one" 
has become " a considerable one," that " treated 
me" has become " received me"; that "got a 
naughty girl with child " has become " had an 
intrigue with a girl of bad character " ; that 
" very oddly " has been turned into " a very ex- 
traordinary manner." But the changes did not 
stop here. The coarseness of the grandfather 
was very shocking to the grandson, and " guz- 
zlers of beer" is made "drinkers of beer," 
"footed it to London" becomes "walked to 
London," " Keimer stared like a pig poisoned " 
is made to give way to " Keimer stared with 
astonishment." 

Such changes are perhaps of small account, 
yet they cannot be read without a feeling of 
contempt for the man who made them, and a 
feeling of thankfulness to the man who pointed 



268 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

them out. That an editor should use judgment 
in the choice of what he publishes, is true ; but 
that he should have the face to change one word 
of the text made public, is something that can- 
not be too strongly denounced. Mr. Stevens 
maintains that Franklin wrote every one of them 
with his own hand. It is out of the question. 
It is impossible to believe that Franklin, who 
formed his style by a study of the Spectator, 
ever hesitated to use plain English. Nor would 
Mr. Stevens have believed it had he been owner 
of the Le Veillard manuscript. 

Whoever, therefore, would read the Autobi- 
ography as it was written must go to the Bige- 
low edition. There, too, is kept the original 
spelling. The work richly deserves a reading. 
Since the day whereon it was first made public, 
innumerable books written by our countrymen 
have come into fashion and gone out of fashion 
and all but disappeared. Hardly a man whose 
name adorns the American literature of the first 
half of the century but saw his books pass 
through a period of neglect. Irving did, and 
Cooper, and Halleck, and Willis, and Haw- 
thorne, and many more. But the Autobiogra- 
phy of Franklin has suffered no neglect. With 
the great mass of our people it has always been 
popular, and has in the United States alone 
been republished fifty-one times. What is bet- 



THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 269 

ter, the people read it. Such records as can 
be had from public libraries all over the 
country reveal the fact that the book is 
read at each of them on an average of once 
a month. At some, v^here the humblest and 
least educated come, its popularity is amaz- 
ing. Indeed, at the Cooper Union Library 
in New York, the Autobiography, during 
1885, vras called for more than four hundred 
times, and the Life by Mr. Parton upwards of 
one thousand. If it be put with books of j 
its kind, and judged as an autobiography, it 
is beyond doubt the very best. If it be treated 
as a piece of writing and judged as literature, 
it must be pronounced the equal of Robinson 
Crusoe, one of the few everlasting books in the 
English language. 

In the Philadelphia high school, a part of it 
is used as a text-book. Save " Poor Richard," 
no other piece of Franklin's is so widely ad- 
mired, and on these tv70 most unquestionably 
rest his literary fame. 

Of the pieces which make his collected Works, 
there is little to be said. The range of sub- 
jects is wonderfully wide. They abound in 
hard common sense and wit. The style is de- 
lightful, and the language good plain English. 
But they were not collected and arranged by 
himself, and his fame has suffered accordingly. 



270 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

No man, unless it be Thomas Carlyle, has 
ever been so harshly treated by editors and 
biographers. Acting under the belief that 
every scrap and line of Franklin's writing 
ought to be kept, they have been most dili- 
gent collectors. 

Buisson, Doctor Price, and the compiler of 
Robinson's edition, published whatever came to 
hand. Temple Franklin published everything 
his publisher could be induced to take. Sparks 
labored hard to let nothing escape him. Edi- 
tors since Sparks have, in their eagerness, had 
the face to ascribe to Franklin pieces Francis 
Hopkinson is well known to have written. The 
result is a collection of " Essays," " Notions," 
" Remarks," " Thoughts," *' Observations," 
" Letters," no human being will now read un- 
less forced to, which he will then consider a 
sore trial, and which cannot be called by any 
other name than tiresome. Franklin reads a 
pamphlet on impressing seamen, and jots down 
along the margin a few remarks in pencil. 
They were never intended to be put in print. 
They were never intended to be seen by any 
one save himself. They were perhaps the crude 
thoughts of the moment, and may, for all the 
reader knows, have never recurred to him again. 
But his editor spies them, and thrusts them 
into his collected writings. Yet not one of 



THE COLLECTED WRITINGS. 271 

them is more apt, or more profound, or more 
sagacious, than could be made by any well- 
educated lad of twenty. Some notions on 
trade and merchants, some thoughts on the 
Sugar Islands, some reflections on coin, are 
found among his papers, or are communi- 
cated in a letter to a friend. Not one of 
them is more remarkable than may be heard 
any day in a street-car, or read any morning 
on the editorial page of a newspaper. Yet 
these too are given a place in the collected 
writings. 

With all this diligence, however, the editors 
have suffered some of his best pieces to escape 
them. No one has gathered the Dogood Papers, 
nor the sketches written for the Courant, nor the 
essays in the Pennsylvania Gazette, nor the 
Prefaces and Prognostications of Poor Richard. 
Mr. Parton and Mr. Bigelow alone have re- 
printed Polly Baker's Speech. It is to be hoped 
that some day, not far in the future, this will 
be corrected, and that to the fif^y editions of his 
works in English will be added one more con- 
taining such of his writings as give him a place 
in the goodly company of American men of 
letters. Out of such a collection will be left 
the notes which he jotted down on the margins 
of his pamphlets; the books and pamphlets 
he distinctly declares he did not write; all 



272 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

his pieces on political economy ; everything 
written to affect public opinion, and which, to 
be understood, must now be annotated and ex- 
plained. In that collection will surely be 
found the Speech of Miss Poll}^ Baker before 
a Court of Judicature in New England ; The 
Witch Trial at Mount Holly ; Advice to a 
Young Tradesman ; Father Abraham's Speech ; 
Remarks concerning the Savages of North 
America ; the Dialogue with the Gout ; The 
Ephemera ; the Petition of the Left Hand ; 
the pretended chapter from Martin's Account 
of his Consulship; a few of the best essays 
from the Gazette ; the prefaces from the 
Almanac; the Parables; the Whistle, and the 
A utobiogr aphy . 

And yet, when this is done, the place to be 
allotted Franklin among American men of 
letters is hard to determine. He founded no 
school of literature. He gave no impetus to 
letters. He put his name to no great work 
of history, of poetry, of fiction. Till after his 
day, no such thing as American literature ex- 
isted. To place him, with respect to Irving, 
Bryant, Cooper, Prescott, and the host of 
great men that came after him, is impossible. 
There is no common ground of comparison. 
Unlike them, he never wrote for literary fame. 
Had he cared for such fame, he would not have 



HIS PLACE IN LITERATURE. 273 

permitted friends and strangers to gather and 
edit his writings during his lifetime ; he wouhl 
not have suffered death to overtake him when 
the Autobiography was but half done ; he 
would not have made it an invariable rule 
to never send anything to the press over his 
own name. His place is among that giant 
race of pamphleteers and essayists most of 
whom went before, but a few of whom came 
immediately after, the war for independence. 
And among them he is easily first. Their 
merit lies in what* they said: the merit of 
Franklin lies not only in what he said, but in 
the way in which he said it. 

In his youth he was an imitator of Addison, 
and of all the countless host of imitators he is 
nearest the masterT His wit is as keen, his 
humor is as gentle, his fancy is as light and 
playful, his style is sometimes better. Addison 
has drawn no characters more lifelike than 
Alice Addertongue, and Anthony Afterwit, and 
Celia Single, and Patience Teacroft. Richard 
Saunders and his wife Bridget, and the " clean 
old man," Father Abraham, are as well done as 
the " Spectator." To compare any of these, save 
" Poor Richard," with the short-faced gentleman 
and his friend. Sir Roger and Will Wimble, 
would be unjust to Franklin. But when they 
are compared with Will Serene and Ralph 



274 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

Simple, and Mary Tuesday and Will Fashion, 
or any sketched and dismissed in a single paper, 
it must be allowed that in Franklin the illus- 
trious Englishman has his match. 

It should seem, therefore, that the essays of 
Franklin should be as well known. That they 
are not is due to the fact that they are so few 
in number, and that they were never collected 
till the reading public had begun to outgrow 
the taste for such writings, and when it would 
have been hard even for Addison to have made 
much of a reputation by the " Spectator." That 
they are so few is to be ascribed to his versa- 
tility and his sloth. He could do so many 
things that to do one thing long was impossi- 
ble. A pamphlet that could be written in the 
heat of the moment ; a little essay or a baga- 
telle that could be finished at one sitting, and 
trimmed and polished at a couple more, was 
about all he had the patience and the industry 
to accomplish. He finished nothing. Neither 
vanity nor persuasion could make him complete 
the Autobiography. The Dogood Papers he 
dropped as suddenly as they began. The 
*' Busybody" he abandoned to his friend Breint- 
nal. Then he set up a printing-house, a news- 
paper, and an almanac, and created Mr. Rich- 
ard Saunders. But he soon grew weary of 
*' Poor Richard," and dropped him ; grew tired 



1 



HIS VERSATILITY. 275 

of business, and though the printing-house was 
immensely profitable, sold it that time might 
be had for the study of electricity. From elec- 
tricity he was drawn off to politics, and from 
politics went back to electricity, made discov- 
eries and wrote essays so important that he 
became world-famous; that the Royal Society 
elected him to membership ; that the University 
of St. Andrews bestowed on him the title of 
Doctor, by which he has ever since been known. 
Success so marked, it should seem, would have 
kept him faithful to his studies of science. But 
lie was soon again deep in politics, was held 
there for years by circumstances he could not 
control, and made for himself so great a name 
as a diplomatist and politician, that as such he 
is now chiefly remembered. During these 
years he still continued to write, and produced 
a mass of political literature, effective in its 
day but now forgotten. 

These writings have none of the cool reason- 
ing of the " Farmer's Letters " ; none of the 
stirring appeals of " Common Sense " and the 
" Crisis." Their characteristics are brevity 
and humor. Grave as the quarrel was, he 
looked upon it as he looked upon the small 
bickerings and petty acts of tyranny of 
neighbors and townsmen, and, as a humorist, 
held up the folly and injustice of England's 



276 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

behavior to laughter and to scorn. Nothing, 
perhaps, so finely illustrates this tendency to 
be at all times the laughing philosopher, as his 
draught of an address to be put forth by Wash- 
ington on taking command of the army. 

The alliance made and the treaty signed, he 
once more went back to general essay writing, 
and to the end of his life continued to produce 
pieces with the old traits of brevity and wit. If 
the writings of his youth were Addisonian, 
those of his old age were thoroughly French. 
When his mind was racked with the " Specta- 
tor," he wrote " Silence Dogood," and the 
" Busybody," and " Patience Teacroft." When 
he had lived some years at Passy, he wrote the 
" Bagatelles." Even among them there is a 
choice ; yet they all have the brightness, the 
spirit and vivacity, of the best French writing 
of that day. His last piece, the speech in the 
" Divesee of Algiers," is not surpassed by any 
of the pleasantries of Arbuthnot or Swift. 

Except the Bagatelles, which he wrote in ^is 
old age for the amusement of his friends, he 
produced little which did not serve an imme- 
diate and practical purpose, and which was not 
expressed in the plainest and clearest English. 
A metaphor, a simile, a figure of speech of any 
kind, is rarely to be met with. The character- 
istics of his writings are, short sentences made 



HIS PHILOSOPHY. 277 

up of short words, great brevity, great clear- 
ness, great force, good-humor, apt stories, 
pointed allusions, hard common sense, and a 
wonderful show of knowledge of the practical 
art of living. Knowledge of life he had in the 
highest degree. He knew the world ; he knew 
men and the ways of men as few have known 
them. His remarks on political economy, on 
general politics, on morality, are often rash and 
sometimes foolish. But whatever he has said 
on domestic economy, or thrift, is sound and 
striking. No other writer has left so many just 
and original observations on success in life. No 
other writer has pointed out so clearly the way 
to obtain the greatest amount of comfort out of 
life. What Solomon did for the spiritual man 
that did Franklin for the earthly man. The 
Book of Proverbs is a collection of receipts for 
laying up treasure in heaven. '' Poor Richard " 
is a collection of receipts for laying up trea- 
sure on earth. 

VHis philosophy was the philosophy of the 
useful, — the philosophy whose aim it is to in- 
crease the power, to ameliorate the condition, 
to supply the vulgar wants, of mankind. It 
was for them that he started libraries ; that he 
founded schools and hospitals ; that he invented 
stoves; that he discovered a cure for smoky 
chimneys; that he put up lightning-rods ; that 



278 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

he improved the post-office ; that he introduced 
the basket-willow ; that he first made known 
the merits of plaster-of-paris as a manure ; 
that he wrote " Poor Richard " ; that he drew 
up the Albany Plan of Union. 

For this it is now the fashion to reproach 
him as the teacher of a candle-end-saving 
philosoph}^ in which morality has no place. 
The reproach, if it be one, is just. Morality 
he never taught, and he was not fit to teach 
it. Nothing in his whole career is more to 
be lamented than that a man of parts so great 
should, long after he had passed middle life, 
continue to writ6 pieces so filth}^ that no editor 
has ever had the hardihood to print them. 
The substance of all he ever wrote is. Be 
honest, be truthful, be diligent in your calling ; 
not because of the injunctions " Thou shalt not 
steal, thou shalt not bear false witness against 
thy neighbor ; " but because honesty is the 
best policy ; because in the long run idle- 
ness, knavery, wastefulness, lying, and fraud 
do not pay. Get rich, make money, as a 
matter of policy, if nothing more, because, 
as Poor Richard says, it is hard for an empty 
sack to stand upright. 

Low as such a motive may seem from a 
moral standpoint, it is, from a worldly stand- 
point, sound and good. Every man whose life 



HIS ORTHOGRAPHY. 279 

the world calls successful has been actuated 
by it, and Franklin is no exception. What 
he taught he practiced. His life is a splendid 
illustration of what may be done by a never- 
flagging adherence to the maxims of Poor 
Kichard. 

The language in which he put his thoughts 
was plain and vigorous English. This is all 
the more praiseworthy as most American 
writers of his day used a vicious Johnsonese. 
But he spelled English as if it were his, 
and not the king's. In all his manuscripts, 
"through" is " thro'," "surf" is " surff," 
"job" is "jobb," "extreme" is "extream." 
Sometimes such words as " public," " panic," 
" music," ^ end with a k and sometimes they do 
not. As might be expected of a man self- 
educated and so practical, he firmly believed in 
phonetic spelling, made a system of his own, 
and invented a quantity of hieroglyphics that 
look very much like bastard type, to represent 
his peculiar alphabet. In it he had neither ^, 
nor g, nor x^ nor y, nor w ; no letter which did 
not stand for a distinct sound, and no distinct 
sound which did not have a letter. To his 
reformed spelling he made but one convert, and 
she, by dint of much labor, learned to read it 
with some fluency and write it with some ease. 
Towards the end of his days he was himself 
converted to a like system of Noah Webster. 



280 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

When we turn from Franklin's labored pieces 
to his letters, we find that they, too, are worthy 
of notice. They abound in worldly wisdom, 
in shrewd observations, in good-humor, good 
stories, good sense, all set forth in plain Eng- 
lish and in an easy, flowing style. In them is 
displayed to perfection the independence of 
thought, the sagacity, the direct and simple 
reasoning, the happy faculty of illustration 
by homely objects and parallel cases; that in- 
Yincible self-control which neither obstinacy, 
nor stupidity, nor duplicity, nor wearisome 
delay could ever break down; and, what is 
better than all, the fearless truthfulness so 
characteristic of the man. Where all are 
good, to choose is hard. But it is idle to ex- 
pect that the readers of our time will peruse 
the stout volumes into which Mr. Sparks has 
gathered a part of them. It may therefore be 
well to name a few which may be taken as 
samples of all, and these few are : the letter on 
the habits and treatment of the aged ; that on 
early marriages ; the account of his journey to 
Paris ; the three on the Wilkes mob in Lon- 
don ; the moral algebra ; that containing the 
apologue on the conduct of men toward each 
other ; that on the art of producing pleasant 
dreams ; that on the Cincinnati ; that to Mr. 
Percival on dueling; to his daughter on ex- 



HIS EMINENCE. 281 

travagance; to Mason Weems on the ordina- 
tion of American Protestant Episcopal clergy- 
men ; and that to Samuel Mather. To these 
should be added the two letters on how to 
do the most good with a little money, because 
of the sound advice they contain and the excel- 
lent practice they recommend. 

To say that his life is the most interesting, 
the most uniformly successful, yet lived by any 
American, is bold. But it is nevertheless 
strictly true. Not the least of the many 
glories of our country is the long list of men 
who, friendless, half-educated, poor, have, by 
the sheer force of their own abilities, raised 
themselves from the humblest beginnings to 
places of eminence and command. Many of 
these have surpassed him. Some have specu- 
lated more deeply on finance, have been more 
successful as philanthropists, have made greater 
discoveries in physics, have written books more 
commonly read than his. Yet not one of them 
has attained to greatness in so many ways, or 
has made so lasting an impression on his coun- 
trymen. His face is as well known as the face of 
Washington, and, save that of Washington, is 
the only one of his time that is now instantly 
recognized by the great mass of his country- 
men. His maxims are in every man's mouth. 
His name is, all over the country, bestowed on 



282 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 

counties and towns, on streets, on societies, on 
corporations. Tiie stove, the lightning-rod, and 
the kite, the papers on the gulf stream, and on 
electricity, give him no mean claims to be 
considered a man of science. In diplomacy his 
name is bound up with many of the most 
famous documents in our history. He drew the 
Albany Plan of Union. He sent over the 
Hutchinson Letters. He is the only man who 
wrote his name alike at the foot of the Declara- 
tion of Independence, at the foot of the Treaty 
of Alliance, at the foot of the Treaty of Peace, 
and at the foot of the Constitution under 
which we live. Nor is he less entitled to dis- 
tinction in the domain of letters, for he has pro- 
duced two works which of their kind have not 
yet been surpassed. One is " Father Abra- 
ham's Speech to the People at the Auction." 
The other is " The Autobiography of Benjamin 
Franklin." 



INDEX. 



Abraham's Address, Father, 114- 
126. Popularity of, 127-129. In 
French, 128, 221, 224. 

Academy and Charitable School, 
135, 149-152. Becomes University 
of Pa., 152. 

" Account of the Supremest Court, 
etc., in Pa.," 246, 247. 

Adams, John, 210. Sketch of life 
at Passy, 227. Sent out in place 
of Deane, 281. Reception at Bor- 
deaux, 231, 232. 

Adams, Abigail : sketch of Mme. 
Helvetius, 234, 235. 

Addison, 19, 24. 

" Address to the Freeholders," 180. 

" Address to the Public," etc., 246. 

Advertiser, Tlie Public (London), 
Franklin's writings in, 203-206. 

Afterwit, Anthony, 77. 

Albany. Colonies bidden to send 
delegates to a conference at, 161. 
Franklin's Plan of Union at, 162. 
Failure of the Plan, 163. 

Alliance, The French, 231. 

Allouez, 160. 

Almanacs : Kalendarium Pennsilva- 
niense, 37, 38. Value of, 97, 98. 
Early almanacs in Phila., 99, 100. 
Character of, 100-101. "Poor 
Richard," 102-129. 

American cause, popularity of, in 
France, 223, 224, 230, 231. 

"American Citizen," 252-263. 

"American Magazine," 129-135. 

Andrews, Jedidiah, 79, 80. 

Anecdotes of Franklin: "Tar Bar- 
rel," "Other Grain," 140. The 
Fire Engine, 147. 

" Answer to Mr, Franklin's Re- 
marks," 187. 

" Argus." Charges against Temple 
Franklin, 263. 

"Art of Virtue," 172. 



Assembly of Pennsylvania : Gov- 
ernor asks it to arm the province, 
137. Reply of the assembly, 138. 
Action after the capture of Louis- 
burg, 140. Action after outrages 
by the privateers, 141, 142. Sends 
Franklin to an Indian conference 
at Carlisle, 157. Sends him to 
Braddock, 163. Thanks Franklin, 
164. Quarrels with the propi'ie- 
tary family, 165. Sends a remon- 
strance to the King, 167. Cen- 
sures the proprietary family, 180. 
Debate on reassembling, 181. Ad- 
dress voted, Norris will not sign, 

181. Franklin chosen speaker, 

182. Election for, 184,188. Frank- 
lin defeated, 185, 186. Chooses 
Franklin agent, 187. 

Association for defense of Philadel- 
phia, 144-148. 

Atkins, Samuel, 37, 38, 39. 

Autobiography, Franklin's : Begins 
to write it, 251, 252. Manuscript 
lost and found, 252, 253. Contin- 
ued, 253. Part of it published at 
Paris, 254-256. English editions, 
258, 259. The Life by Stuber, 259, 
260. Temple Franklin trades the 
original manuscript, 266. Recov- 
ered by Mr. Bigelow, 266, 267. 
Value of, 268. Popularity of, 269, 
270. 

Bache, Richard : Deputy U. S. post- 
master - general, 158. Marries 
Sarah Franklin, 215. 

Bache, B. F., 215, 238. 

Bagatelles, 236-238. 

Ballads: Popularity of, 17, 18. 
Franklin's, 14, 18. 

Baker, Miss Polly, Speech, 272. 

"Banlcs " of paper money, 57-59. 

Battery, The Association, 146-148. 



284 



INDEX. 



Bath, Earl of, 171. 

Bellamy, the pirate, 15. 

Bethlehem, 164. Moravian Indians 
at, 173. 

Bible : Franklin's paraphrase of 
David's Lamentation, 85, 86. Of 
a chapter of Job, 87-89. The par- 
able against persecution, 90, 91. 
" Parable on Brotherly Love," 91, 
92. 

Biddle, James, 195. 

Bigelovif, John : Edits the Autobiog- 
raphy, 266, 267. 

Biloxi, 160. 

«' Blackbeard," the pirate, 16, 17. 
Franklin's ballad on, 14. 

" Body of Divinity," Willard's, 5. 

"Bonhomme Richard," 221. Used 
in the schools, 224. 

Books : In library of Josiah Frank- 
lin, 5. In Boston Public Library, 
6. In Harvard Library, 7. Number 
printed, 1706-1719, 8. Franklin's 
efforts to get, 18, 19. Books read 
by him, 19, 20. 

Book of Common Prayer : Sir F. 
Dashwcod's abridgment, 92. 
Franklin contributes to, 92. 

Bordeaux, reception of Adams at, 
231, 232. 

Boston : Description of 1706, 2, 3. 
Benjamin Franklin born at, 3. 
Library at, 6, 7. Pilgrim's Prog- 
ress printed at, 8. "Publick 
Occurrences " published at, 11. 
"The News Letter," 12, 13. "Bos- 
ton Gazette " started, 13. " Nevi^ 
England Courant" begun, 21. 
Cotton Mather introduces inocu- 
lation, 22. Is abused, 22, 23. 
" Courant " persecuted, 27-29. 
James Franklin forbidden to print, 
29. Benjamin Franklin leaves Bos- 
ton, 33. " Votes and Proceedings," 
etc, preface by Franklin, 205, 206. 

Braddock, Edmund, 163, 164. 

Bradford, William, Franklin applies 
to, for work, 33. First printer in 
the Middle Colonies, 36. Sketch 
of, 37. His struggle for liberty of 
the press, 37-39. 

Bradford, Andrew, 39. Asked to 
print Sewel's Hirtory of the 
Quakers, 46. His " Weekly Mer- 
cury," 47. Starts American Mag- 
azine, 129-135. 

Breboeuf, 160. 

Breintnal, Joseph, 53. 

"Brief State of the Province of 
Pa.." 180. 



Brillon, Madame, 233. 

Brownell, George, 3, 4. 

Buckner, John, sets up a press in 
Va., 37. 

Bucks County (Pa.), petition the 
assembly for paper currency, 59. 

Bulfon, Count de, 156. 

Buisson, publishes the Autobiog- 
raphy, 254, 255. 

Burke, William, 171. 

Burlington, 34, 35. 

Burton's "Historical Collections," 8. 

" Busybody " papers, 49-53. 

Ca Ira, 222. 

Campbell, John, 12. First news- 
paper reporter, 14. 

Canada : Early struggle for, 55, 56, 
57. Capture of Louisburg, 140. 
Question of surrendering Canada, 
168-171. 

Capefigue's estimate of Franldin, 
223. 

" Captivity among the Indians," 
Mary Rowlandson's, 8. 

Carey, Matthew, 242. 

Caricatures of Franklin, 183, 184, 
195. 

Carlisle, 173. 

Carmichael, William, 232. 

Catechism, Franklin's abridgment, 
92. 

Cave, E., 155. 

Censorship of the Press in Massa- 
chusetts, 27-30. In Pennsylva- 
nia, 38, 39. 

Chester Covmty (Pa.), petition for 
more shillings on the dollar, etc., 
58. 

" Choice of a Mistress," 266. 

Churches : The Old South, 2. " Our 
Lady of Victory," 56. "Old 
Button wood," 79. 

Clericus, 26. 

" Club for the Propagation of Sense 
and Good Manners," 30-32. 

Colonies: State of, in 1706, 1-3. 
Printing in, 7, 8. Literature, 8. 
Newspapers, 11-13. Pirates, 14- 
18. Liberty of the Press, 26-29. 
Ahnanacs in, 37, 38, 97-100. Wars 
of, 55-57. Issue paper money, 
56-60. 

" Collection of English Proverbs," 
Ray's, Franklin borrows from, 
112, note. 

CoUison, Peter, 155. 

" Comparison of Great Britain and 
America," 225. 



INDEX. 



285 



Conestoga Indians : On the Manor, 
173. Massacre of, 174, 175. 

Congress: Franklin delivers their 
Declaration of Rights, 214. Frank- 
lin a member of, 216, 217. Sand 
Franklin to France, 217, 218-220. 
Send Adams out and recall Deane, 
231. Appoint Franlclin sole min- 
ister, 232. Accept his resigna- 
tion, 240. 

Connecticut, issues paper bills, 57. 

Constables in old times, 83. 

Constitutions of the States : Trans- 
lated by Dubourg, 224. Forbid- 
den to be published, 230. French 
estimate of, 224. 

Conyngham, Gustavus, 229-239. 

"Cool Thoughts," 180, 181. 

Copley medal given to Franklin, 
156. 

Courant, The New England : Start- 
ed by James Franklin, 21. Char- 
acter of, 23. Articles contributed 
by Franklin, 23-26. Notice of 
pirates off Block Island, 26, 27. 
Editor of, in jail, 27, 28. Remarks 
on the conduct of Governor 
Shute, 28,29. Franklin forbid- 
den to print, 29. Benjamin 
Franklin becomes pr inter j 30. 
Dr. Janus, 30-32. 

Coxe, D. His plan of union for the 
colonies borrowed by Franklia, 
162, 163. 

Crequi, Marquise de, 223. 

Credit bills in the colonies, 55, 57- 
64. 

Crown Point, 161, 164. 

Cuba, call for volunteers to plun- 
der, 138, 139. 

Cushing, Thomas, 210. 

Dalibard, draws electricity from the 
clouds, 156. 

Dashwood, Sir Francis, abridges 
the Book of Common Piayer, 92. 

David, paraphrased by Franklin, 
86. 

Deane, Silas, 219, 229, 230, 231. 

Declaration of Rights, 214. 

Denman, befriends Franklin, 44. 

D'Estaing, 231. 

Defense of Printers, 75, 76. 

De Foe : Keimer publishes his Re- 
ligious Courtship, 48. 

Delaware, outrages on the river, 
140, 141, 142. 

De Lor, 156. 

Dialogues between Philocles and 
Horatius, 78. Between Socrates 



and Critico, 78. Socrates and 
Glaucon, 78. 

Dialogue between X, Y, and Z, 
165. 

Dialogue between two Presbyte- 
rians, 78. 

Dialogue between Britain, France, 
etc., 225. 

Dialogue between Franklin and the 
Gout, 236. 

Dickinson, John, 181. His speech, 
182. Called " The Maybe," 182. 
Tries to defeat Franklin, 186, 187. 

Dictionary : Publication of Cham- 
bers's, begun in Keimer's news- 
paper, 48. Ended, 65. 

Dogood, Silence, Essays of, 23-26. 

Dollar, Spanish, petition to increase 
number of shillings in, 58, 59. 

Donegal, 174. 

" Drinkers' Dictionary," 78. 

Duane, William, edits Franklin's 
works, 261. 

Dubourg, Barbeu, translates Frank- 
lin's electrical writings, 156. 
Meets Franklin, 207. Translates 
his writings, 207. Difficulty of, 
207, 208. Letter to Franklin, 219. 
Translates the State Constitu- 
tions, 224. Forbidden to publish, 
230. 

Duel, relative to Hutchinson Let- 
ters, 211. 

Easton, 164. 

Economists, The, 206. 

"Edict of the King of Prussia," 
204, 205. 

Edinburg Review, charges against 
J. Franklin, 262. 

Education : Franklin's proposals re- 
garding, 135, 149. His scheme, 
149-151. Founds the Philadel- 
phia Academy, 151. His " Idea 
of an English School," 151, 152. 

Education of Franklin, 3-9, 18-21. 

Election, An old time, 184-186. 

Electricity, " New Experiments and 
Observations in," 155, 156. 
Franklin's experiments repeated 
in France, 156. The kite, 156. 

" Ephemera, The," 236, 237. 

Epictetus : first translation in Amer- 
ica, 94. 

" Essay to do Good," Mather's, 5. 

" Essays on Projects," De Foe, 5. 

Essays of Franklin in the Courant, 
23-25. In the Mercury, 49-53, 117. 
In the Pa. Gazette. In London 
journals. 



286 



INDEX. 



" Farmer's Letters," Franklin's 
preface to, 206. 

" Family of the Boxes," 78. 

Fires : Method of extinguishing, 84. 
Franklin's atteuipt at reform, 85. 

Fire companies, 85. Action for 
defense of Philadelphia, 146, 147. 

Fleet, Thomas, Boston publisher, 
18. 

Folger, Abiah, 3. 

Forts, the French chain of, 161. 

Franklin, Abiah, 3. 

Franklin, Benjamin : Baptized in 
Old South Church, 2. Name of 
parents, 3. Date of birth, 3. 
Education, 3. Taste for the sea, 
4. Early reading, 5, 6. Buys 
Pilgrim's Progress, 8. Appren- 
ticed to his brother, 11, Writes 
ballads, 14. Sent to hawk them, 
18. Efforts to get books, 18, 19. 
Studies the " Spectator," 20-21. 
Writes Dogood Papers, 23, 24, 25. 
His indenture cancelled, 30. Edits 
the Courant, 30. His fiction of 
Dr. Janus, 30, 31. Quarrels with 
his brother, 32, 33. Leaves Bos- 
ton, 33. Seeks work of W. Brad- 
ford, 33. Walks across New Jer- 
sey, 34, 35. Reaches Philadel- 
phia, 35. Finds v^ork, 39. Re- 
turns home, 39. Sent to London 
by Keimer, 40. Becomes journey- 
man printer, 40. His Disserta- 
tion on Liberty and Necessity, 
41-43. Meets Bernard de Mande- 
ville and Henry Pemberton, 43. 
His London life, 43, 44. Re- 
turns to Philadelphia, 44. Em- 
ployed by Keimer, 44. Founds 
the Junto, 44. Becomes father 
of a soq, 45. Forms partnership 
with Meredith, 45, 46. First job, 
46. Prints part of Sewel's Hist, 
of the Quakers, 46. Plans a 
newspaper and is betrayed by 
Webb, 47. Writes "The Busy 
Body " for the " Mercury," 48, 
49, 50. Denies that he printed 
"A Touch of the Times," 50. 
Ridicules Keimer, 50, 51. Prob- 
ably \yrote " A Short Discourse," 
etc., 5D, 51. Buys the " Universal 
Instructor," 53. Writes a pam- 
phlet on paper money, 60-64. 
Prints the Penna. paper money, 64. 
" The Pennsylvania Gazette." 65. 
Character of the Gazette, G6-88. 
Defends Mr. Hemphill, 79-82. 
Attempted reforms, 82-85. Forms 



a fire company, 85. Paraphrases 
of the Bible, 85-89. The 
" Levee," 89. The Parables, 90- 
92. Abridgment of the Cate- 
chism, 92. Poems, 93. Dissolves 
partnership with Meredith, 96. 
Opens a shop, 96, Habits of 
work, 97. Begins "Poor Rich- 
ard," 97. Takes a hint from 
"Poor Robin," 101. The name 
of " Richard Saunders" from an 
English almanac, 101. Issues 
" Poor Richard," 102. The Pre- 
faces, 103-109. Humor of, 109, 
110. Poor Richard's maxims, 111- 
113. Father Abraham's Address, 
114-226. Popularity of, 126- 
129. Starts a magazine, 129. 
Quarrel with John Webbe, 129- 

134. Failure of the magazine, 

135. Plans for a school, 136. 
Issues " Proposals for Promot- 
ing Useful Knowledge," 136, 137. 
Letter to his brother, 140. Writes 
" Plain Truth," 142. Advertise- 
ment of, 142-144. Starts an as- 
sociation for defense, 145, 146. 
Popularity, 149. His proposals 
relative to the education of youth, 
149-151. Founds Academy, 151. 
The Academy becomes University 
of Pennsylvania, 152. Sells the 
newspaper, 153. Prosperity of 
Franklin, 153, 154. Returns to 
scientific studies, 155. His scien- 
tific pamphlets, 155, 156. Re- 
printed in London, 156. The 
famous kite experiment, 156. 
"Translated into French," 156. 
Neglected by the Royal Society, 
155. Elected a member, 156. 
Given the Copley Medal, 156. 
Made a postmaster - general for 
the colonies, 157. Sent to an 
Indian conference at Carlisle, 

157. Character as a public man, 

158. Appoints his relatives to 
of3ce, 158. Reforms the post- 
office, 158, 159. " Join or die," 
1G2. Plan of Uijion at Albany, 
162. Similarity to D. Coxe's 
plan, 162, 163. The assembly 
sends him to Braddock, 163. 
Furnishes Braddock with wagons, 

164. Is thanked by the assem- 
bly, 164. Frames a militia bill, 

165. Writes "A Dialogue be- 
tween X, Y, and Z," 165. Put 
in command of the troops and 
goes to Gnadenhiitten, 166. Sent 



INDEX. 



2S1 



to represent the province at Lon- 
don, 167. Writes "Meanes of 
disposing the Enemie to Peace," 
1G3, 170. " Tiie Interest of Great 
Britain," attributed to him, 171, 
172. Returns to Pliiladelphia, 
172, Sent to remonstrate with 
" Paxton Boys," 177. Writes " A 
Narrative of the Late Massacre," 
178. " Cool Thought?," 180, 181. 
Speaker of the assembly, 182. 
Signs the Address to the King, 
182. Preface to Galloway's 
Speech, 182. Is lampooned, 183, 
184. The election, 184-185. Is 
defeated, 185. Sent to London as 
agent of the province, 187. 
" Remarks on a Protest," 187. 
Starts for London, 187. His 
character defended by Hughes, 
187, 188. Estimate of, by Pem- 
berton, 188. Reaches London, 
189. Recommends Hughes as a 
stamp officer, 191. His opinion 
of the Stamp Act, 191, 192. Pop- 
ular rage against Franklin, 193- 
195. Examined before Parlia- 
ment, 198. Lampooned, 198-200. 
Writings in the London news- 
papers, 200-202. " Rules for 
reducing a great empire to a 
small one," 203. "An Edict of the 
King of Prussia," 204, 205. Mis- 
cellaneous Pieces, 205, 206. Trip 
to Paris, 206-208. Meets the 
♦ ' Economists, " 206. Fir st edition 
in English of his works, 207. 
First translation into French, 207. 
Difficulties of, 207, 208. Hutchin- 
son Letters, 208-212. Turned 
out of the post-office, 213. De- 
fends his action in the Hutchin- 
son affair, 213. Tory press 
attacks him, 213. Delivers the 
Declaration of Rights, 214. Re- 
turns to America, 214. Deborah 
Franklin and her family, 215. 
Franklin chosen to Congress, 
216, 217. Sent to France, 217. 
History of the mission, 218-220. 
Reception at Nantes, 220. Mes- 
senger sent to forbid his coming 
to Paris, 220. Reception at Passy, 
221. Great popularity of, 221- 
223. Abused in French books, 
223, Writes "A Comparison of 
Great Britain and America," 225. 
" A Dialogue," etc., 225. His life 
at Passy, 226,227. Trouble with 
the privateers, 229,230. Acknowl- 



edged by France, 231. Quarrels 

with American envoys, 232. Sole 
Minister to France, 232. His 
friends at Passy, 233. Madame 
Brillon, 233. Madame Helvetius, 
234, 235. The Bagatelles, 236-240. 
Returns to United States, 240- 
241. Popularity at home, 241- 
243. Papers written on the voy- 
age home, 241. "Retort Cour- 
teous," 243, 244-246. "Sending 
Felons to America," 243, 244. 
" Likeness of the Antifederalists 
to the Jews," 243. Delegate to 
the Constitutional Convention, 
246. "Plea for Promoting the 
Condition of the Free Blacks," 
246. "Address to the Public," 
etc., 246. "Account of the 
Supremest Court," 246, 247. 
" Martin's Account of his Consul- 
ship," 249. Death, 249,250. His 
Autobiography, 251-269. His 
works, 270-272. His place among 
men of letters, 272, 273. His 
teaching, 274, 275. His style, 
276. Letters, 276-278. His 
greatness, 278, 279. 

Franklin, Benjamin (uncle of Ben- 
jamin), 4 and note. 

Franklin, Deborah Reed : Aids her 
husband. Letter to her husband, 
194. Life and family, 215. 

Franklin, Josiah : Father 'of Ben- 
jamin, 3. Seeks a trade for Ben- 
jamin, 4, 5. Books in his library, 
5. 

Franklin, James : Benjamin appren- 
ticed to, 11. Prints Boston Ga- 
zette, 13. Starts New England 
Courant, 21. Character of Cou- 
rant, 23. In jail for libel, 27, 28. 
Forbidden to print Courant, 29. 
Cancels the indenture of Ben- 
jamin, 30. 

Franklin, William, 166. 

Franklin, William Temple : Inher- 
its his grandfather's papers, 254, 
Advertises for them, 256, 257, 
Goes to London, 258, Accused of 
selling the papers, 260-264. Pub- 
lishes part, 264. History of the 
rest, 264, 265. Bought by U. S., 
265. Trades the manuscript of 
the Autobiography, 266. 

Friends, establish a press, 39. 

" Freedom of Thought," 26. 

French, jP'he: Wars with the English, 
55-57.'t;xplorations and discoveries 
by, 159,160. Found Mobile and New 



288 



INDEX. 



Orleans, 180, Build Crown Point, 
Niagara, Presque Isle, 161. At- 
tempt to drive the English from 
Ohio Valley, 161, 162. Continued 
success, 164, 166. Defeats, 168. 

Galloway, Joseph, 181. Franklin's 
Preface to his speech, 182. Is 
defeated for assembly, 185. Let- 
ter to Fraiikhn, 193, 194. Frank- 
lin leaves his papers with, 252. 

"Gazette, The Pennsylvania:" 
Founded by Keimer, 47, 48. 
Bought by Franklin and Meredith, 
65. Character of, 66-88. Ac- 
count of the witch trial, 71-74. 
Reply to the ministers. 74-76. 
Defense of Mr. Hemphill, 79-82. 
Account of the " Associators, " 
142-144. Sold to D. Hall, 153. 
Effect of Stamp Act on, 196. 

Gazette, The Boston, 13. 

" General Magazine," 129-135. 

Genesis, Franklin's, 51st chapter, 90. 

" Gentleman's Magazine," 91, 205. 

German language : First newspaper 
in, 94. First book printed with 
German type, 94. 

Gnadenhiitten, 164, 166. 

Governor of Pa. : Sends Franklin to 
Boston, 39. To London, 40. Asks 
assembly to defend the province, 
137. Reply of assembly, 138. 
Proclamation of, calling for 
troops, 138, 139. Quarrel with 
assembly over redemptioners, 139. 
Quarrels with assembly over tax- 
bills, 165, 167. Conduct toward 
the " Paxton Boys," 175, 176. 

Green, Dr. S. A., cited, 112, note. 

Grenville : His Stamp Act, 188-190. 
Gives the colonial agent an au- 
dience, 190. Falls from power, 
193. 

Hall, D.: Franklin sells the Gazette, 
Almanac, and printing house to, 
152. 

"Hand-in-hand," The, 85. 

"Handsome and Deformed Leg," 
236. 

Hanging : Scenes at the hanging of 
pirates, 14, 15, 

Harvard College : Books not in 
library in 1723, 7. First copy of 
"News Letter" carried to pres- 
ident of, 13. 

"Heart-in-hand," 85. 

Helvetius, Madame, 233-235. Baga- 
teUes written for, 236, 237, 238. 



Hemphill, Samuel, 79. Persecuted 

by the presbytery, 79-80. De- 
fended by FrankUu, 80-82. 

" Hints for those that would be 
Rich," 110. 

"Historical Collections," Burton's, 
8. 

" Hooped Petticoats Arraigned," 6. 

" Honour of the Gout," 97. 

Hopkinson, Francis, 240. 

Hodge, William, 229, 230. 

" How to Please in Conversation," 
78. 

" Human Vanity," 237. 

Hunter, Wm. , a postmaster - gen- 
eral with Franklin, 157. 

Humble Petition, presented to Ma- 
dame Helvetius by her Cats, 237. 

Hughes, John : Defends Franklin, 
187. Stamp distributer, 191. 
Letters to Franklin, 195. 

Hutchinson, Thomas, famous letters 
of, 208-212. 

"Idea of an English School," etc. 
151. 

Indians : Franklin has a conference 
with, 157. Massacres by, in Penn- 
sylvania, 164. Conspiracy of 
Pontiac, 172, 173. Moravian In- 
dians, 173. Massacre by the 
"Paxton Boys," 174, 175. Rem- 
nant taken to Philadelphia, 175. 
Threatened by the Paxton Boys, 
176,177. "Remarks concerning 
the Savages," 157, 240. 

' ' Information to those who would 
remove to America," 240. 

Inocvilation: Mather attempts to in- 
troduce it at Boston, 22. Is 
abused by the Courant, 22, 23. 

"Interest of Great Britain Consid- 
ered," dispute as to authorship, 
171, 172. 

Intelligencer, The National, charges 
against Temple Franklin regard- 
ing the Autobiography, 260-261. 

Izard, Ralph, 211, 232. 

James, Abel, finds MS. of Autobiog- 
raphy, 255. 

Jansen, Reynier, 39. 

"Janus, Dr.," the pretended dic- 
tator of the Courant, 30-32. 

Jackson, Richard, 171. 

Jackson, James, Franklin's reply to, 
248, 249. 

Jay, John, 218. 

Jerman, John, ridiculed in " Poor 
Richard," 108-109. 



INDEX. 



289 



Jefferson, Thomas, 218, 219. 

Job, paraphrase of a chapter, 87-89. 

" The Levee," 89. 
" Join or die," 162. 
Johnson, Samuel, remarks on 

Franklin, 214, 245. 
Johnson, Tiberius, 39. 
( JoUet, 160. 

\ Jones, John Paul, 113, 114, 
I Journal, The Pa.: Charges against 
Franklin, 199, 200. Effect of 
I Stamp Act on, 196. 

, Junto, The, 94, 95. 

Kalendarium Pennsilvaniense, 37, 
38. 

Kames, Lord, reprints one of Frank- 
lin's Parables, 90. 

Keimer, Samuel : Opens a printing- 
oifice at Philadelphia, 39. Em- 
ploys Franklin, 44. Franklin 
leaves Keimer, 45. Prints part of 
Sewel's History of Quakers, 46. Is- 
sues " Universal Instructor," etc. 
47, 48. "Writes " A Touch of the 
Times," etc., 150. Is ridiculed 
by Franklin, 50, 51. Is ruined in 
business, 53. 

Keith, William, Governor of Pa., 39. 
Sends Franklin to Boston, 39. 
Then to London, 40. 

"KiteUc,"26. 

Lafayette, 230. 
J Lancaster : Scotch-Irish in, 173, 174. 
1 Massacre in, 174, 175. 

I La SaUe, 160. 

I Lampoons of Franklin, 183, 184, 186, 
^ 195, 198-200. 

Law, John, his Mississippi Co., 

160. 
Le Caron, 160. 
Le Despencer, Franklin helps in 

abridging Prayer Book. 
" Le Moyen de s'Enricher," 208. 
Lee, Arthur, 211, 219, 232. 
Lee, William, 232. 
Leeds, Daniel, Almanacs of, 96-100. 
Leeds, Titan : Ridiculed in prefaces 
to Poor Richard, 103-107, 108. 
Compared with "Poor Richard," 
, 111, 112. 

Letters, The Hutchinson, 208-212. 
"Letter to a Friend in the Coun- 
try," 80. 
"Levee, The," 89. 
Lewiston, excitement caused by pri- 
vateers, 142. 
"Liberty and Necessity," Disserta- 
tion on, by Franklin, 40-43. 



Liberty of the Press, 246-248. 
Library Company of Phila., 94-95. 

Library in Boston, 6. Harvard 

Library, 8. 
" Likeness of the Antifederalists to 

the Jews," 243. 
Literature read in the colonies, 6, 

7. Produced in the colonies, 8. 
" Lords of Trade and Plantations," 

warn Pennsylvania not to issue 

more paper bills, 59, 60. 
Lottery, to aid Battery Association, 

146. 
Louisburg, rejoicings over the cap- 
ture of, 140, 167. 
" Louse, History of a French," 

Franklin abused in, 223. 
" Lying Tradesmen," 78. 

Magazine, The Gentleman's, reprints 
the Parable against Persecution, 
90, 91. FrankHn starts "The 
General Magazine," 129-134. 
Bradford starts " The American 
Magazine," 134. Each fails, 135. 

Manuscripts, the Franklin, history 
of, 251-270. 

" Martin's Account of his Consul- 
ship," 248, 249. 

Marquette, 160. 

Massachusetts : First newspaper in 
U. S. printed in, 11. Suppresses 
it, 12. Persecutes James Frank- 
lin, 27-29. Issues paper money, 
56, 57, 58. A stamp act in, 190. 

Massacres by the Indians, 164. Ex- 
citement caused by, 165, 166. 

Mather, Cotton : Character of, 9, 10. 
Introduces inoculation, 22. De- 
nounced by the people, 22. By 
the Courant, 23. Replies to Cou- 
rant, 23. 

Maxims of "Poor Richard," 111- 
114. Collected in " Father Abra- 
ham's Address," 114-126. 

" Maybe, The," 182. 

" Meanes of disposing the Enemie to 
Peace," 169. 

Mecom, Benjamin, 171. 

Medal, The Copley, given to Frank- 
lin, 156. 

"Meditations on a Quart Mug," 
70. 

" Memorabilia," 19. 

"Mercury, The American," 21, 47. 
Franklin's essays in, 49-53. " The 
Detection," 130-134. 

Meredith, Hugh, 45, 46. 

Meseres, Baron, 171. 

Mesnard, 160. 



290 



INDEX, 



Mississippi River, discovered by 
Marquette, Joliet, La Salle, 160. 

Mission, the French : History of, 
218-220. Franklin one of the 
commission, 219. His welcome, 
220. 

Mobile, 160, 

" Modest Inqtiiry into the Nature 
and Necessity of a Paper Cur- 
rency," 60-64. 

Money : Sketch of issues of paper 
money in the colonies, 55. In 
Massachusetts, 56. In South Caro- 
lina, 56. In New Hampshire, Con- 
necticut, Rhode Island, New York, 
and New Jersey, 57. "Banks of 
paper money," 57, 58. Paper 
money in Pennsylvania, 58, 59. 
" Warning of the Lords of Trade," 
59. New issues wanted, 60. 
Franklin's pamphlet on paper 
money, 60-64. 

Monopoly, an ancient, 34, 35. 

" Morals of Chess," 236. 

Moravian missionaries, 173. 

Moravian Indians, 173. Massacre 
of, by the Paxton Boys, 174, 175. 
Protected at Philadelphia, 175, 
177. 

Morellet, Abb6, 235, 237, 238. 

Mount Holly, witch ducking at, 71- 
74. 

Nantes, reception of Franklin at, 

220-221. 
" Narrative of the Late Massacre," 

178-180. 
"Necessary Truth," an answer to 

" Plain Truth," 148. 
New Castle, houses near, plundered 

by privateers, 141. 
" New Experiments and Observa- 
tions in Electricity," 156. 
New Hampshire, issues paper bills, 

57. 
New Jersey, No printing press in, 7. 

Early roads across, 34. Journey 

of Franklin across»34, 35. Issues 

paper bills, 57. 
New York, issues paper money, 57. 

A stamp act in, 190. 
News Letter, 12, 13, 14, 23. 
Newspapers, first, in the colonies, 

11. Suppressed by government, 

12. "The News Letter," 12, 13. 
"Boston Gazette" started, 13. 
First reporter, 14. " New England 
Courant " begun by James Frank- 
lin, 21. Bradford's "Weekly 
Mercury," 47. Keimer issues 



" Universal Instructor," etc., 47, 
48. Franklin and Meredith begin 
the Pennsylvania Gazette, 65. 
Character of, 66-88. First Ger- 
man, 94. First daily, 94. Sale 
of the Pennsylvania Gazette. 
Pennsylvania Journal attacks 
Franklin, 199, 200. Effect of the 
Stamp Act on the newspapers, 
196. Fraiiklin's writings in the 
London newspapers, 200-206. 

Niagara, 161. 

" Nightwalkers," 26. 

" No Stamped Paper to be had," 
196. 

Nollet, Abb^, opposes Franklin's 
theories, 156. 

Non-importation agreement, 193. 

Norris, Isaac, 167. Refuses to sign, 
181. Resigns speakership, 182. 

" Observations on the Proceedings 
against Rev. Mr. Hemphill," 80, 
81. 

" Observations relative to the In- 
tentions of the Original Founders 
of the Academy in Philadelphia," 
152. 

Ohio Company, Surveyors of, cap- 
tured by French, 162. 

Oliver, Andrew, Letters to Whately, 
209-212. 

CEuvres de M. Franklin, 208. 

" Origin of the Whalebone Petti- 
coat," 8. 

Pamphlet regarding the Paxton 
Raid, 180, 181, 184. 

Papillon, Peter, 27. 

Parables ; Franklin's parable against 
persecution, 90, 91. Parable on 
brotherly love, 91, 92. 

Paraphrases : Of David's Lamenta- 
tion, 86. Of a chapter of Job, 87, 
88. " The Levee," 89. 

Paris, Popularity, of the American 
cause, 221-223. Excitement over 
American successes, 230, 231. 

Parsons, J., publishes Autobiogra- 
phy, 258. 

Passy : Franklin reaches, 220. His 
life at, 226-229, 233. Sketch of 
Madame Brillon and Madame 
Helvetius, 233-235. Street in, 
called FrankUn, 250. 

Paxton : Massacre of the Indians by 
men from, 174, 175. " Paxton 
Boys " march to Philadelphia, 
175, 176. Their grievances, 177. 
Ride back to Lancaster, 178. 



INDEX. 



291 



Pemberton, Israel : His estimate of 

Franklin, 188. 
Penn, William, 2, 37. 
Penn, John, 175, 176. 
Pennsylvania : Censorship of the 

press, 38. No press in, 39. Gov. 

Keith, 39. Issues paper money, 

59. Warning of the Lords of 
Trade, 59, 60. More paper wanted, 

60. Franklin defends the issue, 
61-64. Franklin prints the bills, 

64. Activity of the press, 93, 94. 
Governor asks assembly to put 
the province in a state of defense, 

137. Reply of the assembly, 138. 
Proclamation of the governor, 

138. 139. Governor and assembly 
quarrel about the redemptioners, 

139. Outrages on the Delaware 
by privateers, 141. Action of the 
assembly regarding, 141. Excite- 
ment at Lewiston, 142. Associa- 
tion for defense of the prov- 
ince, 144-148. Indian conference 
at Carlisle, 157. Trouble with 
the French, 161. Delegates sent 
to Albany, 161, 162. Capture of 
Trent, 162. Braddock's expe- 
dition, 163, 164. Devastation of 
the province, 164, 165. Measures 
of the assembly, 165. Quarrel 
with the Penns, 165. Vote money, 

166. Quarrel with the governor, 

167. Sends Franklin to represent 
the province in London, 167. Con- 
spiracy of Pontiac, 172, 173. Mo- 
ravian Indians in Lancaster, 173. 
Massacre by Paxton Boys, 174, 
175. Assembly censure the pro- 
prietary family, 180. 

Perth Amboy, 34. 

Peters, Rev. Richard, 136. 

" Petition of the Left Hand," 236. 

" Perfumes," 266. 

Philadelphia : Franklin reaches 
the city, 35. Andrew Bradford, 
36. History of printing at, 36-39. 
The Pennsylvania Gazette started, 

65, 66. Franklin attempts to 
reform the city watch, 83; 
forms the Union Fire Company, 
85. Activity of the press, 93, 94. 
Library Company, 94, 95. Al- 
manac makers in, 99, 100. First 
magazines in the United States, 
129-135. Rejoicings over capture 
of Louisburg, 140. Excitement 
over outrages on the Delaware, 
141. Appearance of Plain Truth, 
142-144. Association for Defense, 



144, 145. Preparations for defense, 

146. Lottery started, 146. Ac- 
tion of the fire companies, 146, 

147. "Academy and Charitable 
School," 149-152. University of 
Pennsylvania, 152. Excitement 
over Indian outrages, 164. Bodies 
of the killed displayed in the 
streets, 164, 165. Moravian In- 
dians taken to, 175. City is 
threatened by "Paxton Boys," 
175-177. Excitement over the 
" Raid," 178, 179. Pamphlets on, 
180, 181. Old-time election at, 
184-186. Franklin returns to, 
240,241. Popularity at, 241-243. 

" Philadelphische Zeitung," 94. 

" Pilgrim's Progress," 8. 

Pirates : Abundance of, in the colo- 
nies, 14. Names of famous, 14. 
Treatment of, 15. " Blackbeard" 
or Theach, 16, 17. Franklin 
writes a ballad on, 18. Notice of, 
in the Courant, 26. 

"Plain Dealer," 180. 

" Plain Truth," 142. Advertise- 
ment of, 142, 143. Purpose of, 
144. Influence of, 148. Answers 
to, 148. 

" Plea for Improving the Condition 
of Free Blacks," 246. 

Pleiades, Titan, 51, 52. 

Poems, written by Franklin, 92. 

Pollard, Ann, 1, 2. 

Pontiac, conspiracy of, 172, 173. 

" Poor Richard," Name taken from 
"Poor Robin," 101. "Richard 
Saunders," taken from an Eng- 
lish almanac, 101, 102. First num- 
ber issued, 102. Prefaces, 103- 
109. Humor of, 109, 110. Saws 
and Maxims, 111, 112. Borrowed 
from Ray, 112,113. Effect on 
Paul Jones, 113, 114. Father Ab- 
raham's Address, 114-126. Popu- 
larity of, 127-129. 

" Poor Robin," gives a hint for 
" Poor Richard," 101, 102. 

Postmaster : Duties of, at Boston, 12. 
"News Letter " started by, 12, 
13. " Boston Gazette " started 
by, 13. 

Postmaster-general for the colo- 
nies, Franklin appointed a, 157. 

Post-office, reforms of Franklin in 
the, 158, 159. 

" Preface to a Speech," 182. 

Press, Printing : few in the colonies, 
7. First in Middle Colonies, 36. 
Struggle for Liberty of, in Penn- 



292 



INDEX. 



Bylvania, 37, 38. Early printers 
in Pennsylvania, 39. Activity of, 
in Pennsylvania, 94, 95. Liberty 
of, 246-248. 

Price, Dr., 253, 258, 259. 

"Pride and Hooped Petticoats," 
26. 

Priestley, Dr., 171. 

Printers : Early printers in Philadel- 
phia, 39. Defence of, 75, 76. 

Privateers: Spanish privateers off 
the coast, 139. French and Span- 
ish, in the Delaware, 140, 141, 
142. American, 229, 230. 

Proclamation of the Governor of 
Pennsylvania, 138, 139. 

"Public Occurrences," first news- 
paper in the colonies, 11, 12. 

Quakers, Sewel's History of, 46. 
Question of military service, 138, 
140, 141, 164, 165, 176, 179. 

Quebec, 56. 

Quelch, the pirate, his death the 
occasion of the first newspaper 
reporting in America, 14, 15. 

Ray: Franklin borrows from his 
" Collection of English Proverbs," 
112, note. 

"Redeemed Captive Returning to 
Zion," 8. 

Redemptioners, Quarrel of gover- 
nor and assembly regarding, 
139. 

Reforms attempted by Franklin, 
82--85. In the post-office, 158, 159. 

"Religion of Nature Delineated," 
WoUaston's, 40. Replied to by 
Franklin, 40-43. 

" Religious Courtship," of De Foe, 
48. 

" Remarkable Occurrences," 196. 

"Remarks concerning the Savages 
of North America," 157, 240. 

" Remarks on a Protest," 187. 

Reporting : First newspaper report- 
ing in America, 14, 15. 

"Repository, The," discusses the 
authorship of one of Franklin's 
parables, 91. 

" Retort Courteous," 243, 244-246. 

Reyners, Joseph, 39. 

Rhode Island : No printing press in, 
7. Issues paper bills, 57. 

Roads across New Jersey, 34, 35. 

Royal Society neglects Franklin's 
letter, 155. Elects him a mem- 
ber, 156. Gives him the Copley 
medal, 156. 



" Rules of Health," 110. 
" Rules for reducing a great empire 
to a small one," 203. 

Saunders, Bridget, 103, 105, 107. 

Saunders, Richard : Edits an Eng- 
lish almanac, 101. Franklin as- 
sumes the name, 101. 

" Sea Hens and Black Gowns," 74. 

"Scandal," 79. 

School : Franklin proposes to f oimd 
the "Academy and Charitable 
School," 136. Founds Philadel- 
phia Academy, 149-152. 

" Science du Bonhomme Richard," 
128. 

Scotch-Irish, of Lancaster, 173, 
174. Threaten the Indians, 174. 
Massacre the Indians, 174, 175. 

" Sending Felons to America," 
243. 

Sewel, William, History of the 
Quakers reprinted in Philadel- 
phia, 46. 

Sewell, Chief Justice, 13. 

Shaftesbury, 19. 

Shakespeare : Earliest copy of 
works in America, 7. 

" Shavers and Trimmers," 77. 

" Short Discourse Proving that the 
Jewish or Seventh Day Sabbath 
is Repealed," probably written 
by Franklin, 50, 51. 

Shute, Samuel, Governor of Mas- 
sachusetts, 26, 28. Courant at- 
tacks him, 28, 29. 

" Simple Cobbler of Agawam," etc., 
8. 

Single, Celia, 78. 

Smith, John : Writes " Necessary 
Truth," 147. Action in his fire 
company, 147. 

South Carolina : North Carolina not 
cut off from, 2. Issues paper 
bills, 56. 

Sowle, Andrew, 37. 

" Spectator, The : " Influence of, on 
Franklin, 19, 20. His imitation 
of, 24. 

Stamp Act, 189-191. Franklin's 
opinion of, 191, 192. Feeling in 
America, 193, 194-198. Repeal of, 
198. 

Stevens, Henry, buys the Franklin 
MS., 256. 

Story, Thomas, 219. 

Stuber, Henry, his Life of Franklin, 
259. 

" Supplement to the Boston Inde- 
pendent Chronicle," 238, 239. 



INDEX. 



293 



Tax : Quarrel regarding taxes on 
Penn estate, 165, 166, 167. 

Taylor, Jacob, 39. 

Taylor, Jeremy, 90-97. 

Teacroft, Patience, 78. 

Temple, John : Duel with Whately, 
211. 

Theach, John, the pirate, 16, 17. 
Franklin's ballad on, 14, 18. 

" Thoughts of the Ephemera," etc., 
78. 

Tolls on roads in New Jersey, 34. 

" Touch of the Times, A," Frank- 
lin denies having printed it, 50. 

" Treacle fetched out of a Viper," 
8. 

Treasure, belief in hidden, 51-53. 

Treaty of 1783, story regarding the 
signing denied, 212. 

" True and Impartial State of Penn- 
sylvania," 180. 

" True Happiness," 79. 

Union : The Albany plan, 161, 162. 

Similarity to a plan of Daniel 

Coxe, 162, 163. Failure, 163. 
"Union, The," Fire Company, 85, 

147. 
United States Government, buys the 

Franklin Manuscripts, 265. 
" Universal Instructor, The," issued 

by Keimer, 47, 48. Bought by 

Franklin, 53. 
University of Pennsylvania, founded 

1749 by Franklin, 152. 
"Usefulness of Mathematics," 78. 

Vaughan, Benjamin, 253. 

Veillard, M. le, 253, 254, 255, 256. 

Vergennes : Sends messenger to for- 
bid Franklin coming to Paris, 220. 
Trouble with the privateer, 229, 
Forbids the discussion of Amer- 
ican affairs, 230. 



Virginia, First printing press in, 37. 
" Visit to the Elysian Fields," 236. 
Voltaire, 222. 

Votes and Proceedings, etc., of the 
people of Boston, 205, 206. 

"Waste of Life," 79. 

" Watch, The City," 82, 83. Frank- 
lin attempts to reform it, 83, 84. 

" Way to Wealth," 128, 129. French 
translation of, 208. Popularity in 
France, 221. 

Webb, George, betrays Franklin's 
plans to Keimer, 47, 48. 

Webbe, John, betrays Franklin's 
plan for a magazine, 129, 130. 
" The Detection," 130-144. Starts 
The American Magazine, 134, 135. 

Wedderburn, 212. 

Whately, William, Letters from 
Hutchinson and Oliver, 209-212. 

" Whistle, The Story of the," 236. 

Wickes,- Lambert, 229. 

Witch ducking at Mount HoUy, 72- 
74. 

WoUaston : " Religion of Nature," 
40. Franklin's reply to, 40, 41. 

Writings of Franklin : Ballads, 14r- 
18. Dogood Papers, 25, 26. Con- 
tributions to the C our ant, 30-32. 
Discourse on Liberty and Neces- 
sity, 40-43. " Busybody," 49-53. 
" A Modest Inquiry into the Na- 
ture and Necessity of a Paper 
Currency, 60-64. Contributions 
to Pennsylvania Gazette, 65-88. 
Pamphlets in defense of Mr. 
Hemphill, 79-82. Paraphrases of 
the Bible, 86-90. Parables, 90-92. 
"The Levee," 90. Abridgment 
of the Catechism, 92. 

Xenophon, 19. 

Zionitischer Weyrauch-Hiigel, 94. 



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